Posted on 05/19/2004 3:25:26 AM PDT by RogerFGay
Man says stress of child support led to bank robbery
The lawyer for a Carson City man charged with bank robbery says financial pressures of paying child support led to his actions.
Forty-five year old Paul Pasillas pleaded guilty Monday in Carson City District Court to robbing the First National Bank of Nevada with a pellet gun on March 10th. He faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced next month by District Judge Michael Griffin.
State Public Defender Steve McGuire says Pasillas was in financial straits after falling behind in child support payments and trying to provide for his girlfriend's family. While entering his plea, Pasillas apologized for his crimes, saying the robbery was out of character.
Here's what it's like when they don't have lots of money for lawyers to fight the system.
Or maybe he should have been paying for his own children, NOT his girlfriends family.
Yeah, that. I wonder how well the girlfriend was living?
Damn....dump the girlfriend and her family! The children come first!!!
"..wherever I can find somebody kind enough to help me raise money to reduce my debt [$1.8 million at the end of 1997]." - -John F. Kerry (The Boston Globe, 02/23/98 - Didn't he find a Ketchup girl?)
Knowing how the justice system works these days, this could soon be a successful legal defense. All you need is one precedent. :-)
I guess they think you should just be in chains and ankle bracelets breaking rocks because you have the misfortune to be divorced. To hell with your life. The children come first /sarc
It's tough for people to understand this without more information. They minimize it by saying "stress".
Do you have any contact with the attorney? Can you get more details on this story?
Google Search
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=dead+beat+or+beaten+down+dads
FranApple
"Here's what it's like when they don't have lots of money for lawyers to fight the system."
Correction: Here's what it's like to see liberal-whining and responsibility-shirking.
That's pretty sad. I noticed a few remarks about him helping out his gf's family. I doubt he was buying her jewelry and new cars. More likely helping with bills and such.
I swear, once the doctor smacks you on the behind, someone owns you.
What fraction of the proceeds of a bank robbery are you expected to give in child support.
You gentlemen are right, and I say this as a divorced mother: there is very little justice for fathers to be found in the so-called "justice system." We are not even talking about confiscatory child support, but an eighteenth-century-style debtors' prison system in which men who cannot both pay for their children and eat are sent to jail where they certainly cannot earn a living. Society despises the deadbeat dad, but fails to recognize that some men, in desperation, have no choice but to run to escape prison when they just can't earn enough to oblige the court and the ex-wife. Judges are not receptive to the argument that Dad cannot find a job at a high enough rate of compensation, particularly in view of changes in our economy.
I don't think that's fair. Sometimes you can only jump through so many hoops until you hit a wall. At least he didn't try and shoot his ex.
Here's a possible scenario, and it isn't all that far fetched. Ex wife finds out about the gf. Out of sheer vindictiveness, she takes her ex husband back to court and gets her child support/alimony payments increased.
This poses a serious problem when you have pre existing financial obligations. I don't know why he's helping out his gf's family. Maybe there was illness or a job loss.
See, look at that. The man is even prevented from doing someone a favor. Oh well, hopefully they can get public assistance.
I guess we can add this to poverty, inner city gang pressure, and drugs as valid excuses for robbery.
It depends on your state's guidelines.
Smartass ;-)
I agree.
The bottom line is that the federal child support guidelines often do result in confiscatory amounts owed. Anyone who has raised a child knows it does not cost $1600 per month per child, but I do know one man who was ordered to pay $800 per month ($9600 yearly) for one child - and his annual salarly was just over $40,000. It's insane.
I know another individual (former MLB player) who was making just over half a million per season when his career ended 15 years ago. His support payment was $120,000 per year for one child. Yes, you read that correctly. The worst part, however, is what happened when he petitioned to have his support order decreased when his career ended and his income dropped from approximately $500,000 to around $72,000 per year. The system took nearly a half year to get to him (during which time he was still supposed to be making payments of $10,000 per month)and he fell in horrible arrears. Then, the moronic judge decreased his support payments to $50,000 yearly - on a $72,000 income. Why? Because the ex ballplayer had money in the bank. Once that amount was more or less drained, THEN the court would agree to decrease his monthly support payment accordingly (though still at a confiscatory rate). It's ridiculous.
None of this is meant to be an excuse for anyone to steal to cover payments, but some of these family court types do need to get their respective heads out of their a$$e$ and see how things really are out there. You father a child, you pay for it: But let's be reasonable about payment amounts.
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