Electric car owner arrested for stealing 5 cents of electricity...

[skuzzle]

http://www.fastcompany.com/3022941/fast-feed/electric-car-owner-arrested-for-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-power

[Richard230]

Well, that sucks.  I wonder how much it cost the county to arrest, prosecute, and jail him for that 5 cents of power?  I bet it cost a lot more than 5 cents.  Was it really worth it just to make some sort of a point?  You would think the cops and DA would have better ways to spend their time, money and resources.  If I was a county taxpayer, I wouldn't be very happy. 

[7racer]

It so stupid!!!! 

[Shinysideup]

As the Georgia police chief said, "Theft is theft."

And dumb is dumb.

[frodus]

There's way more to the story. The guy was asked not to return to the school... His son doesn't go there... He was there for his own tennis lessons. He lied to the cop.

The guy isn't the smartest.

[Richard230]

There's way more to the story. The guy was asked not to return to the school... His son doesn't go there... He was there for his own tennis lessons. He lied to the cop.

The guy isn't the smartest.

Thanks.  That makes more sense.  It sounds like the school and/or the cops had a history with this fellow.

[frodus]

• Mr. Kamooneh had been previously advised by school personnel that he was not allowed on the tennis courts at any time without permission.
• In spite of that notice, Mr. Kamooneh was on the tennis courts that Saturday afternoon taking lessons.
• He was not there watching his son play tennis
• His son IS NOT a student at the school
• He lives in Decatur, not Chamblee
• He was extremely uncooperative and argumentative with the officer that responded to the call
• He accused the officer of damaging his car - the pre-existing damage is on the officer's video when he first drives up
• Had he just said oops, been cooperative and not claimed damage there would never have been a report
• Sgt. Ford's decision to pursue charges was ultimately driven by the previous notice to Mr. Kamooneh
• If Mr. Kamooneh had heeded the previous notice not to be on the tennis courts without permission the incident would not have occurred
• Sgt. Ford was probably feeling defensive when saying a theft is a theft - he was looking at it as he did nothing wrong

We received a 911 call advising that someone was plugged into the power outlet behind the middle school. The responding officer located the vehicle in the rear of the building at the kitchen loading dock up against the wall with a cord run to an outlet. The officer spent some time trying to determine who's vehicle it was. It was unlocked and he eventually began looking through the interior after verifying it did not belong to the school system.

The officer, his marked patrol vehicle and the electric vehicle were all in clear view of the tennis courts. Eventually, a man on the courts told the officer that the man playing tennis with him owned the vehicle. The officer went to the courts and interviewed the vehicle owner. The officer's initial incident report gives a good indication of how difficult and argumentative the individual was to deal with. He made no attempt to apologize or simply say oops and he wouldn't do it again. Instead he continued being argumentative, acknowledged he did not have permission and then accused the officer of having damaged his car door. The officer told him that was not true and that the vehicle and existing damage was already on his vehicles video camera from when he drove up.

Given the uncooperative attitude and accusations of damage to his vehicle, the officer chose to document the incident on an incident report. The report was listed as misdemeanor theft by taking. The officer had no way of knowing how much power had been consumed, how much it cost nor how long it had been charging.

The report made its way to Sgt Ford's desk for follow up investigation. He contacted the middle school and inquired of several administrative personnel whether the individual had permission to use power. He was advised no. Sgt. Ford showed a photo to the school resource officer who recognized Mr. Kamooneh . Sgt Ford was further advised that Mr. Kamooneh had previously been advised he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission from the school . This was apparently due to his interfering with the use of the tennis courts previously during school hours.

Based upon the totality of these circumstances and without any expert advice on the amount of electricity that may have been used, Sgt Ford signed a theft warrant. The warrant was turned over to the DeKalb Sheriff's Dept. for service because the individual lived in Decatur, not Chamblee. This is why he was arrested at a later time.

I am sure that Sgt. Ford was feeling defensive when he said a theft is a theft and he would do it again. Ultimately, he did make the decision to pursue the theft charges, but the decision was based on Mr. Kamooneh having been advised that he was not allowed on the property without permission. Had he complied with that notice none of this would have occurred. 

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/24703-Electric-car-owner-charged-with-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-juice?p=515618&viewfull=1#post515618