Some days, it’s harder than ever to read this stuff:
An Ohio woman was collared for petty theft after she was caught swiping $2.87 in change from a fountain last week.
Deidre Romine said she had just fished the coins out of the Logan County Courthouse fountain in Bellefontaine to buy food when a cop approached her on Oct. 7.“The cop asked me what I was doing and I was afraid to tell him,” Romine told WBNS-10TV. “The money didn’t belong to anybody, so I just took it out of there.”
After the officer found the stolen change in her pocket, he issued her a summons to appear in court on a petty theft charge.
The unemployed woman said she’s been struggling to make ends meet and about to lose her apartment and now she’s worried that she’ll get locked up.
“I’m trying to feed myself and I’ve got four cats I’m raising and trying to feed them,” she said. “I might go to jail.”But one man launched an online donation drive to help Romine fight her case.
“Officer I am holding in my hand a quarter dated 2011 that is one of twenty coins admitted as State’s Exhibit two. Can you tell these jurors whether this specific coin was acquired by the Defendant from the bottom of that fountain?” “Then let’s turn to the next…” Nineteen coins later this jury ain’t gonna care much for this cop.
Since when is it stealing to pick up coins dropped in public places?!!11?!! I pick up pennies all the time. I guess I better start checking for cop cars first. Christ on a bike in a pancake hat.