Penalty for unwrapping gifts early: Arrest (12-year old arrested for opening a Christmas gift early)

The Herald ^ | 12/05/06 | Monica Chen

[FreedomCalls]

A mother convinced Rock Hill police to arrest her 12-year-old son after he unwrapped a Christmas present early. The boy's great-grandmother had specifically told him not to open his Nintendo Game Boy Advance, which she had wrapped and placed beneath the Christmas tree, according to a police report.

But on Sunday morning, she found the box of the popular handheld game console unwrapped and opened. When the boy's 27-year-old mother heard about the opened gift, she called police. ...

When the mother threatened to call the police, the boy went into his room and got the Game Boy, the report stated. She called the police anyway.

Two Rock Hill police officers responded to the home and charged the boy with petty larceny. He was charged as a juvenile and released the same day, said police spokesman Lt. Jerry Waldrop, who added the boy was never held at the jail.

"We wouldn't hold a 12-year-old," he said. ...

On Monday night, the mother said she had her son arrested because she didn't know what else to do.

[lunarbicep]

S.C. ping

[Tribune7]

I wish the on-line newspapers would be more up-front about their locations

Ditto that.

[upchuck]

South Carolina Ping

Add me to the list. / Remove me from the list.

[Howlin]

LOL!

[A.J.Armitage]

So, we'd rather a person in that situation not compound what she already did by adding murder... and that's hypocrisy, how? Are you saying we're secretly in favor of killing babies, or what, exactly?

[Slings and Arrows]

Somehow, I'm not suprised that this happened in Rock Hill.

[jonrick46]

The great-grandmother should be embarrassed that this was only a Game Boy Advance which is ancient history for portable games. She should have bought a Nintendo DS Lite or Sony's PSP. Now that would have been a real present!

[sully777]

Crack down at Rock Hill

[darkangel82]

Arrest the mother for criminal stupidity.

I was thinking the same thing just now before I read the article. although if we had a law against stupidity, we might have to lock up almost all of Congress too.

[Slings and Arrows]

They were raising 'caine.

Any time something stupid happens in South Carolina, it seems to be in Rock Hill.

[sully777]

This story goes beyond the pale in so many ways/

Hope you're having a good night.

[Ronin]

That's about what I was thinking.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Her lack of understanding of the proper raising of children is understandable considering she was 15 when her son was born.

If she was still fifteen it would be understandable. But she is 27. You expect that she would have learned a thing or two over the years.

[metmom]

On Monday night, the mother said she had her son arrested because she didn't know what else to do.

Return the gift.

I know of someone who told her kids if she found out that they snuck around and opened the gifts she had hidden to find out what they were getting before Christmas, she'd take every single last one back. They did and she did.

[metmom]

People are way too easily offended. Any mother that called 911 to report that her 12 year old kicked in the door deserved a a response like that. Good grief, just who's the adult in these households? It appears that there's none.

[Malsua]

Wow, that was dumb.

Just smash the thing, I would have. That would have taught the little punk a lesson. No soup for you little man.

[thulldud]

Actually, this is the sort of story that ought to put the kibosh on the feminist notion that "men are unnecessary." A single mom raising a boy is going to have an awful time of it. If there were a dad in the house, he could pull that boy into line with a dirty look.

That ought to be the headline here: "Young men need grown men".

The cops tried to help, but they can't substitute for a real dad.

[csx3000]

Jeff Katz discussed this yesterday afternoon on his radio show. The kid is 12 years old, the mother is 27 and no father is ever mentioned. Nuf said!

[U S Army EOD]

One more, and he goes to jail for life.

[csx3000]

"For those pointing out her age of giving birth, I want to point out that many would be pointing out how girls in the same age range 13-15 would be doing the right thing not to have an abortion.

The self-righteous hypocrisy is thick in here today - especially when no one here knows what the circumstances of this pregnancy were."

Guess we feel all warm and fuzzy now, we've defended our quota of victums today.