Ohio woman charged in theft of $2.87 from fountain

ValentineWiggin
reply to post by Lady_Tuatha

 

Couldn't they have just asked the poor woman to put the money back, or put the 2 bucks in the fountain back themselves and pointed her in the direction of a food bank?

Did it really have to go that far?

I think a warning and a little kindness towards her situation would have sufficed.

Exactly.
It would seem that people are going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to dealing with the public.
There was no need to further upset this already discouraged woman.

This makes sense a woman takes a couple of bucks that was thrown away and she gets charged. Bankers and wall street steal billions and nothing happens. The pig that charged her with the crime should be the one thrown in jail for wasting taxpayer money over such BS.

We're now a zero tolerance society. The worst thing isn't the legal system putting a person through the ringer for such a non-event.. No the worst thing is the attached social stigma they throw in with it all.

Whoever saw this should of looked the other way or waited to verbally warn her away from other eyes. But she must be shamed, meanwhile people fight to the death to protect rapist and killers.

reply to post by wingsfan


It seems to be alot about control, from seat belts to the newest

New U.K. Gun Allows Cops To Shoot And Capture Your DNA And LAPD Police Body Camera Tool Could Mean Age Of 'Ubiquitous Surveillance'!

thecelestialconvergence.blogspot.com...

i was stopped a while back because i had my hand holding the seat belt away from my neck as i am to short for it. The officer told me I was breaking the law.

DrunkYogi
reply to post by Lady_Tuatha

 

Of course she is not part of the Government so she cant steal and get away with it.

Well said, very true given the past 16 days.
What a total crock. She could have just been asked to put it back.
But I suppose the State, County and City need to balance their budgets, this will no doubt go a very long way.

reply to post by luciddream



is tasting a single grape at the supermarket before you decide to buy a bunch, chargeable theft?

im gonna google that.

ps - i stole a pen by accident from work today. lock me up, police state!

reply to post by Char-Lee


Sheesh! I do that too sometimes because I don't like the material of the belt. I know, it's an odd quirk.

That's not stealing!!! People throw their small change away into pond - finders keepers!

Since when is it a crime to steal discarded trash, even if it is a few loose coins.

Is the Courthouse trying to say that they own the petty coins?

This should not be happening with our level of technology...

reply to post by Liquesence



It's like the great Bob Dylan once sang:

"Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king."

supermarket2012
For those that don't know....the fountain IS a source of income for whoever owns the property. Where did you guys think all the money goes? Rhetorical question, because before I saw it on an episode of Modern Marvels, I didn't know either.

On Modern Marvels, they had a company on that basically cleans the dirty coins from fountains, and restores them. Then, the company sends them to the bank, and gets to keep a percentage, while the property owner of the fountain gets the rest. They specifically avoided telling us the financial aspects of fountains, probably for areason, lol.

Wouldnt it then be up to the discretion of the owner whether to press any charges? I mean I have seen people pick apples from an overhanging apple tree, lest they fall and rotten. Likewise, I've seen take more than a penny from the take a penny, give a penny at cashier fronts. Can a peace officer in this police state now arrest and charge someone for such things now, too, without the subject property owner's discretion?

So they think she is going to pay the fine when she can't even afford food? lol that's dumb.

Also, wonder who paid for fountain and its ongoing water, maintenance, etc?

Public?? Yet, they have no say in a fellow citizen's fate & civil records. Bloody Shame.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


They should have let her have 287 wishes

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


yes if you pick up cans lets say in a recycling bin beside road in some places they will charge you with theft why because the secret is recycling isn't just about cleaning up environment its a way to make money. a neighbor got in troube a few years ago when they were caugt taking drink cans out of a recycling bin in my town which has since stopped recycling why because there wasn't enough revenue generated from it.

paraphi
reply to post by luciddream

 

Yes, stealing is stealing. She knew what she was doing so should suffer the consequences, although likely she'll just be told off.

Regarsd

What should be the consequences of stilling $3? A reasonable fine would be to pay $6. Double the amount. Anything above that seems to me would be extreme.

You just gotta love these "crimes".

Who's the victim?

paraphi
reply to post by luciddream

 

Yes, stealing is stealing. She knew what she was doing so should suffer the consequences, although likely she'll just be told off.

Regarsd

Have you ever downloaded music or video illegally?
Ever taken a pen from the office, photocopied, or printed non work related stuff, or not put 40 cents in the coffee jar?
Ever eaten a grape or cherry at the supermarket, without paying for it?
Ever guilty of theft by finding? This is where a household dumps some stuff on the street (we call it hard rubbsh), and neighbours (and anyone else) go through these discards. This too is illegal and you can be charged.

Have you lived your entire life without once taking something that did not belong to you?
Do you really believe this woman should potentially go to prison for the whopping $2 + that essentially belonged to no-one?

So in the world we live in, this woman maybe goes to jail, and the bankers who caused a global recession/depression are awarded plum jobs in the cabinets of Obama and Cameron.

Yes, that will teach her, won't it?

And what consequences do you reckon for such a heinous crime? Drawn and quartered, loss of a hand, or ship her off to Van Diemen's Land to the 'Women Factory'. Obviously a telling off is far too lenient, and there are no jobs in the government for the likes of scum like her - you need to rip-off billions, not chicken feed.

Char-Lee

woogleuk

Soloprotocol

If you find a Twenty blowing down the street and pick it up and keep it..are you stealing it ???

In the UK, yes...it's called theft by finding, don't know if the same rule applies in the states.

What are you guys supposed to do if you find a quarter? Leave it on the street or carry it to the police? I bet if you turn in untraceable 20$ the police you handed it to would pocket it., or do they put a bulletin out for the owner all over the city lol!

If you find money on the street, you hand it in to the Police and give them your details. If after a period of time, 6 weeks I believe, no one has come forward to claim it, they give it to the finder. Anything else is stealing - it doesn't matter the value of the money.

reply to post by cuckooold


It's all very well getting all melodramatic about this, but in reality, do you honestly think she will be thrown in Prison for this? I can only speak from a UK perspective, but here they'd most likely be cautioned and be let on their way, not even a fine, so let's not get our panties in a bunch over here "being thrown in Prison for $3", because it hasn't happened and most likely never will.

At the end of the day, as you well know from your post, stealing is stealing and we all take the risk whether pinching a pen from work (you could be fired, after all...) to picking up money in the street or battering an old ladies head in for £15