Electric Car Owner Arrested For Stealing 5 Cents Of Power

So they opened his car door, and looked inside to find out who the car was owned to? Are cops allowed to even do that? I guess if the cop wanted to argue he could probably say that he was investigating the area in where a crime was being committed .
Click to expand...

Absolutely Bro, a crime being committed, if the plates are run and the vehicle isn't listed as stolen then reasonable to assume the owner is the one committing the crime and the search is therefore warranted.
 
lcpiper said:
LeninGHOLA, So can I come take your mail box and sell it? I mean it's not worth prosecuting right, it'll cost more then the 15$ to just replace it. Maybe we can spread out the damage so it doesn't hurt just you and we will tax everyone for your mail box replacements.
Click to expand...

This has all of 0% relevance to what I posted. Your logical disconnect is refreshing, though.
 
He didn't steal $15 worth of physical product, he used five cents of an available utility
Click to expand...

LeninGHOLA, he had done it before, been asked to stop, been warned before. He's a thief and he needs to be dealt with.
 
Ducman69 said:
He didn't steal $15 worth of physical product, he used five cents of an available utility. This is more akin to someone going to public property and washing dog poop off their shoes with a hose that was sitting outside.

No, its not your water and you didn't have permission, but to arrest someone for a petty thing like that wastes everyone's time and money. Just say "its not your water, you don't have permission to use it" and if he goes away then just leave it at that.
Click to expand...

It's kinda hard to enforce Icpiper's authoritarian police state agenda if you're going to come in here with this reasonable and calm bullshit.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Why perpetuate this myth? If you actually read the other article, that's not what happened. The cop warned him at the one and only time he was caught using school power, then later arrested him for that very same incident.

He used the school's outlet on November 2nd, cop took down his name and address from mail he found in the unlocked car, and was arrested for it on the 13th.
Click to expand...

Well, that changes things. Someone at the school probably (not going to assume they did, as you're already pretty upset over this) wanted something done, so the cop had to do something.

But, as it's a utility on a public location - can I do the same for internet? Can I just connect to the schools network and get some free downloads? While on site for legitimate purposes, I'm sure you can - as well as water and other things. Why they chose to be dicks about the power, who knows. I just feel something is missing from the whole thing.
 
Either way, it wastes more taxpayer money to pursue the issue via an arrest than it would just to tell the guy to knock it off and/or lock up the outlet.
Click to expand...

No leninGHOLA, your the one who is saying it costs more to pursue the issue then to deal with the thief so just let him go. And that is exactly what I am saying with the mailbox analogy.
 
lcpiper said:
No leninGHOLA, your the one who is saying it costs more to pursue the issue then to deal with the thief so just let him go. And that is exactly what I am saying with the mailbox analogy.
Click to expand...

It's not an analogy if it isn't analogous... or even relevant.
 
lcpiper said:
LeninGHOLA, he had done it before, been asked to stop, been warned before. He's a thief and he needs to be dealt with.
Click to expand...

Is it really this hard to read an article that doesn't even amount to a single printed page worth of text? He had not done it before. He did it one time, was told he might be arrested, and then 11 days later he was arrested for having done it that one time. This is not a case of "he was warned and did it again", there was no "again".
 
He should have either been given a warning by the person who complained to the police or been ticked for an infraction (if available in that locality). The whole production of ticketing, then going to his home to arrest him 10 days later and holding him for 15 hours is a bit overkill compared to how it could have been immediately handled. Even if a judge tosses the case or accepts it lowered to a lesser charge via plea deal, it's a huge waste of time.
 
sfsuphysics said:
I have yet to meet someone who drives a muscle car who isn't a douche (sorry Steve... we haven't met yet ;)) ... or a rice rocket... or luxury car or... yeah it's easy.
Click to expand...

Haha. I second the muscle car and rice rocket sentiment.

Depending on how you define "Luxury Car" though, I've met some decent people who drive them, as long as they aren't BMW's, Mercs or Lexuses, as these tend to be driven by a-holes :p

As far as electric and hybrid cars go, in the early days there were a lot of over-zealous environmental types who drive them, and I can understand that sentiment, but these days they are driven just by normal people who don't like spending money on gas...
 
You do know that electricity from the utilities is not stored, so unused electricity is wasted.
 
Why do people think that playing dumb removes all responsibility and absolves them of any wrong doing?

Cop took it to far IMO but who knows what was said during the confrontation. I've observed a few incidents of people who turned a simple warning from a policeman into some hefty tickets and even arrests.
 
lcpiper said:
LeninGHOLA, he had done it before, been asked to stop, been warned before. He's a thief and he needs to be dealt with.
Click to expand...

How much did this arrest cost? How many cops were involved, and for how many hours? How much is that time worth? How much did it cost to process and imprison him for 15 hours? How much did it cost to process him back out? How much did the filing of charges cost?

Take all that, and compare it to a nickel, and then please get a goddamned clue. Your attitude is why we're 17 trillion in debt and climbing.
 
lcpiper said:
Absolutely Bro, a crime being committed, if the plates are run and the vehicle isn't listed as stolen then reasonable to assume the owner is the one committing the crime and the search is therefore warranted.
Click to expand...

Aw yeah. Hey man, you just dropped that coin on the ground. Yeah, I saw it. No, that's not my coin, that's yours. It's not mine. That's littering. Gonna have to search your car, brah. Plus I think I smell weed. You don't have anything to hide, right? Just open the door and get out of the way, citizen. Don't want to have to label you a terrorist, now.
 
Stiletto said:
How much did this arrest cost? How many cops were involved, and for how many hours? How much is that time worth? How much did it cost to process and imprison him for 15 hours? How much did it cost to process him back out? How much did the filing of charges cost?

Take all that, and compare it to a nickel, and then please get a goddamned clue. Your attitude is why we're 17 trillion in debt and climbing.
Click to expand...

This country has fallen into the trap that "taking" is the new way to get rich...
 
Zarathustra[H];1040437581 said:
The assumption that just because an outlet isn't locked means that it is intended for public use, is a little bit of a leap don't you think? Especially since he had been warned not to.

The only reason you install a fountain, is so the public can drink from it. That is not the case for an electric outlet.

I have electric outlets on the front of my house. Should people be able to assume that they are for public use as well?
Click to expand...

I'd like to think that the average person would know the difference and between outlets available in public places versus outlets on the outside walls of someone's house. :-P
 
lcpiper said:
No, it probably is not in the city's best interest, but it isn't the cop's job to decide, it's the DA's. The cop's job is to arrest people who violate the laws and he is not supposed to be deciding who to arrest and who not to arrest.
Click to expand...

Actually, police officers have a duty to use common sense to protect and SERVE the public. The officer in question could have best resolved this by saying, "you're not allowed to charge your car on school grounds, disconnect and don't do it again". That would have been the end of it.


Think of it this way... kids who take their laptops to school, or phones, or whatever, they charge their devices on school property..., yet aren't arrested. Why?

Kids have been plugging in fans and boom boxes (after school, weekends, etc) to park pavilions and schools without asking for decades. What makes them exempt yet this not?
 
Subpoena every cop on the local force, subpoena the prosecutor, judge, mayor, district attorney, every city employee that you possible can, and also plain jane citizens. One simple question: " Do you plug your personal cell phone, laptop, or any personal electronic device, into any publicly owned electrical receptacle?"

With the answer that will inevitably come from each one the precedent has been set. They will all justify doing so.
 
lcpiper said:
From the Video on the news site;

Anchor; "...something you had done before"
Dad; " Sure, u-hum"
Click to expand...


You said:

"he had done it before, been asked to stop, been warned before."

That is not correct. He was not, until the officer told him otherwise, under the impression that he was not allowed to use that power. It is not at all unlike him using a drinking fountain at the school when dropping his kid off; Most people would probably not think it would be considered stealing. Most people, when told to stop, would stop. When he was told to stop, he did stop.
 
Cop took it to far IMO but who knows what was said during the confrontation. I've observed a few incidents of people who turned a simple warning from a policeman into some hefty tickets and even arrests.
Click to expand...

The cop didn't arrest him on the spot, and I don't think any city writes tickets for theft. The cop responded to a complaint and he filed his report. Since the cop didn't actually take any action against him it's hard to say that he did anything wrong at all.

The report was investigated to determine if he had asked permission to use county electricity, the school is funded by the county it would seem. The school said no they had not, and someone, the DA or the Police Chief made the decision to charge him and he was arrested.

Would be insightful to know who reported him to the cops and why.
 
"he had done it before, been asked to stop, been warned before."

That is not correct. He was not, until the officer told him otherwise, under the impression that he was not allowed to use that power. It is not at all unlike him using a drinking fountain at the school when dropping his kid off; Most people would probably not think it would be considered stealing. Most people, when told to stop, would stop. When he was told to stop, he did stop.
Reply With Quote
Click to expand...

Yes yes, LeninGHOLA pointed it out before, and although I thought someone else earlier had found where he had been warned previously I find no info of this. But in the actual video the News Anchor does ask him and he does say he had done this before.
 
Moving goalposts takes more energy than admitting you were wrong.
Click to expand...

I am not moving any goal posts, and my admission is above, just takes time to read for several websites because they don't all report things the same.
 
lcpiper said:
The cop didn't arrest him on the spot, and I don't think any city writes tickets for theft.
Click to expand...
A petty theft infraction would be a ticket, and likely include a court summons. Doesn't apply in this case, but it does exist.
 
Think of it this way... kids who take their laptops to school, or phones, or whatever, they charge their devices on school property..., yet aren't arrested. Why?

Kids have been plugging in fans and boom boxes (after school, weekends, etc) to park pavilions and schools without asking for decades. What makes them exempt yet this not?
Click to expand...

Because as students of the School they are either authorized or not. It would seem the County feels this Dad was not authorized. We will push this further along the line, some homeless guy plugs into the same outlet at the school, what about him? Is he authorized?
 
Like I said, it could be real interesting to know who called the cops and why.
 
lcpiper said:
From the Video on the news site;

Anchor; "...something you had done before"
Dad; " Sure, u-hum"
Click to expand...

As in BEFORE HE WAS ARRESTED.

Unless you can find documented proof of his having done this twice, stop making things up.
 
A petty theft infraction would be a ticket, and likely include a court summons.
Click to expand...

You could be right. Although I didn't at the time, I do remember reading reports of shoplifters being cited and released but I think this is specific to local laws and not a universal procedure.
 
Worst case scenario should have been the guy should have been asked to make a donation to the school or something for using their facilities. The fact the cops went to his house and arrested him without asking the school superintendent/board what to do is total bs.
 
lcpiper said:
Because as students of the School they are either authorized or not. It would seem the County feels this Dad was not authorized. We will push this further along the line, some homeless guy plugs into the same outlet at the school, what about him? Is he authorized?
Click to expand...

(Hypothetically)If the guy kept doing it multiple times after being asked to stop, I could see a cop intervening. Booking him after catching him once is an abuse of power and a waste of taxpayer money.

Just saying, "Hey, please top that" can solve a lot of situations.
 
lcpiper said:
The cop didn't arrest him on the spot, and I don't think any city writes tickets for theft. The cop responded to a complaint and he filed his report. Since the cop didn't actually take any action against him it's hard to say that he did anything wrong at all.

The report was investigated to determine if he had asked permission to use county electricity, the school is funded by the county it would seem. The school said no they had not, and someone, the DA or the Police Chief made the decision to charge him and he was arrested.

Would be insightful to know who reported him to the cops and why.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to imply that I had seen anyone receive a ticket for theft, rather I was trying to make the point that one's attitude can impact whether a warning is given or arrest made.

I bet the owner didn't take it well being told to stop, or finding a cop in his car for that matter. The cop then just covered his bases before making the arrest. Usually its arrest first, questions later.

Maybe the father of lesser tennis player wanted some revenge and reported him.
 
Man I don't get it sometimes. In this scenario the cop says it isn't about the money. But when it comes to citations they have a monthly quota because its a revenue generator. Its not like the guy committed murder.
 
Did you listen to the video again, the Anchor asks him what he was doing and says "...something you had done before" and he replies " Sure, u-hum", he doesn't correct the anchor and say this isn't the first time.

Now like I said, it would be interesting to know who called the cops. Someone made the complaint. But he does admit to having charged his car at the school like this before and there is someone who decided to call the cops. I don't know the real reason why someone called the cops, you have to do some digging just to find an article that even verifies that the cop was responding to a call. Maybe the guy is a jerk, maybe the guy that called the cops is a jerk. Maybe some other kid's dad just doesn't like him or maybe the guy has been doing this every weekend all year long and someone told him he shouldn't and he ignored them. But the info isn't there, and no one is volunteering it.
 
Stiletto said:
How much did this arrest cost? How many cops were involved, and for how many hours? How much is that time worth? How much did it cost to process and imprison him for 15 hours? How much did it cost to process him back out? How much did the filing of charges cost?

Take all that, and compare it to a nickel, and then please get a goddamned clue. Your attitude is why we're 17 trillion in debt and climbing.
Click to expand...

Didn't cost anything since the clerks and guards are there anyways doing their job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top