Posted on 09/20/2018 1:56:02 PM PDT by rickmichaels
Jodie May of Grandville, Michigan, was forced to appear before a district judge earlier this week on a larceny charge for taking away her daughter’s cellphone as punishment.
May took the iPhone 6 from her 15-year-old daughter in April after the teenager got in trouble at school, according to reports.
“I was just being a mom, a concerned parent and disciplining my daughter,” May told WOOD-TV.
What began as discipline became a criminal matter after May’s ex-husband reported it to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office and claimed she committed a crime.
After the mom’s arrest in May, she was immediately released on $200 bond. May was facing a misdemeanor larceny charge, which carries a punishment of up to 93 days in jail, the TV station reported.
Shortly before the bench trial began on Tuesday before Ottawa County District Judge Judy Mulder, prosecutors added another charge to the case: larceny by conversion. That charge was also punishable by up to 93 days, according to the report.
But before the first witness was called, yet another twist was added.
“I’ve had an opportunity to discuss this case with the victim in this case, or at least the person we believed owned the property,” Ottawa County assistant prosecutor Sarah Matwiejczyk told the judge.
The prosecutor said she determined the phone is in fact owned by the daughter, not the ex-husband.
“The mother defendant being the mother of the minor child, I believe that changes the case significantly,” Matwiejczyk reportedly said. “Therefore, we’re requesting that the charges be dismissed.”
May called the entire situation “ridiculous.”
“I think it’s ridiculous,” May told the TV station. “I can’t believe I had to be put through it, my daughter had to be put through it, my family. I’m very surprised, but I’m very happy with the outcome.”
May’s court-appointed attorney, Jennifer Kuiper-Weise, said she was ready for a court battle.
“We knew this was parental discipline,” said Kuiper-Weise, a former assistant prosecutor in Ottawa County. “We knew that it would come across that way.”
She also questioned why the charges were ever filed.
“The case was authorized on a probable-cause basis, and unfortunately at times there are misdemeanor cases that are not thoroughly vetted, and unfortunately Miss May was a victim of that,” Kuiper-Weise told WOOD.
Maybe the mom should take a leave of absence from work, freeze all accounts and utilities, lock the house up and take a 93 day vacation on the state, leaving the little bitch to fend for herself. And if she tries to enter the house, have someone report it as a burglary.
This is just an ex-husband being a POS.
ex husband.
“Honey...remember that college money I was putting away for you? Well, I’ve decided I need a new car instead. So...I guess you’re on your own if you want to go to college.”
“Oh, and I already know what I’m getting you for your 18 birthday. An eviction notice. Enjoy!”
I am so damned glad my kids are grown. No way would I want to be a parent in this country now.
The ex-husband/father was behind this. The prosecutor should have exercised common sense and refused to file charges, but common sense seems to be in short supply these days.
When you pay for food, school, clothes and smartphone for the kid, you have the right to take the phone.
This is nothing more than the left cutting the bonds of parent and child.
Who pays the phone bills?
I read about this story this morning. Her child was not behind it but her ex husband.
https://www.ntd.tv/2018/09/20/theft-charges-dismissed-against-woman-who-took-daughters-iphone/
Charges were dismissed.
Some law enforcement and prosecutors should be fired.
"...in April, May took away the girl’s iPhone 6 in April. “I was just being a mom, a concerned parent, and disciplining my daughter,” she said.
But others disagreed. WOOD reported that May got arrested on a misdemeanor larceny charge after she confiscated the device.
A judge also leveled another charge against her, namely larceny by conversion. Each charge carried a maximum sentence of 93 days in jail, meaning that May faced 186 in the joint, more than half a year.
How in the world did that happen? Well, it turned out that the county didn’t have a problem with May taking her daughter’s phone in and of itself.
Rather, her ex-husband contracted the authorities and said that the phone actually belonged to him. Suddenly parental tough love had turned into theft.
Bizarro World is real.
She is a mimor child. Parents were paying the phone service bills. Probably bought the phone as well. Or gave her the money to buy it.
The ex is a real douche.....
Government...that’s outside your jurisdiction.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.