Posted on 04/23/2012 10:42:54 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A Naples man faces a felony charge after he was accused of walking out of the McDonald’s in East Naples without paying for a cup of soda.
After filling a courtesy cup with soda Thursday at the McDonald’s soda fountain and then leaving the restaurant, Mark Abaire, 52, of the 500 block of 14th Street North, was arrested by Collier deputies and now faces a felony theft charge, a sheriff’s report shows.
A manager told sheriff’s deputies that Abaire entered the store and asked for a glass of water around 10 p.m. Although the employee told him the cup was for water, Abaire filled it with soda at a fountain machine and sat outside the restaurant, according to an arrest report.
During a conversation with the manager, Abaire declined to pay for the soda, valued at $1, refused to leave the premises, and cursed at the manager, the report stated.
While his charge is petty theft, because of previous petty theft convictions, the charge for drinking the unpaid-for soda was increased from a misdemeanor to a felony, the arrest report shows. In Florida, a third-degree felony can result in a sentence of up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Abaire faces additional misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly intoxication. On Saturday, he remained in the Collier County jail with bond set at $6,500.
Is this for real?
From the headline, it sounds outrageous!
But once you know “the rest of the story”, felony charge and 5 years for a serial petty criminal PITA sounds like a good plan.
So, two petty thefts is one felony?
That sounds to me to be rather... petty.
I,ve seen them do this at McDonalds and Panera and other places that employ teenagers, and in fact one man not only helped himself to coffee with his own cup, he stole a newspaper on the way out!
They don’t have capital punishment in that state? Must be a “whitey” who got arrested,’cuz “protected classes” don’t get arrested.
Now he’ll get “3 hots and a cot.”
Enviro-commies took over Naples years ago.
Naples is sooooo deep into the “Twilight Zone” that the developers are paying for Reid Noss to come to town.
i live here. oh Lord its definetely for real. i wouldnt doubt if over half of polk county has been in criminal court at least once.
too much booze and now has dead cells in head
Heh. Probably shouldn’t give out free cups if you’re that sensitive about your fountain drinks. Courtesy cup; courtesy Coke.
How retarded.
SnakeDoc
In Fl. A theft is a felony over $300 or is a third or subsequent conviction. Makes sense when people continue to incur petit thefts. Same as Dui’s and dwlsr’s in Fl.
It's a little known fact that there are no minorities in prison in the US.
...and some red-water if his new friends share.
Don’t I know, used to live in Bartow, county seat. Got pretty bad, need the revenue, I guess. Used to be a pretty nice place to live.
The boy don’t sound too bright.
They kidnapped one of the drivers and forced her to let them in the door. Since the driver had no access to the counting room except a mailslot-sized deposit drawer, they couldn't get to the cash. They stole the warehouse forklift and crashed it into the armored door, but it wouldn't make a dent. They decided they'd bash in the wall from the outside, but got the forklift stuck in the yard.
Utterly defeated, they stole the only thing they could get their hands on - a few cases of Twinkies.
They weren't caught, but I've had this scene running in my head ever since: New convict, first day in the yard, and someone asks "So, what are you in for?"
Clarification: Bartow’s still nice place, talking about polk county.
Somehow I knew there had to be booze involved in something like this -- there usually is.
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