Posted on 09/02/2006 9:11:47 PM PDT by beaversmom
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- Two men who took fruit and vegetables out of a garbage can have been sentenced to six months in jail, a punishment they say is harsh and the only choice they had to avoid a felony on their records.
Giles Charle, 24, of Sumersworth, N.H., and David Siller, 27, of Wayne, Pa., were on their way to the Rainbow Family's annual gathering when they were arrested in June and charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor theft.
Authorities said they took five cucumbers, four or five apricots, two bundles of asparagus spears and a handful of cherries from a garbage can at Sweet Pea Produce. The two pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing Wednesday and the felony charge was dropped.
"We didn't have any intention of committing a crime or doing anything wrong," Charle told the Steamboat Pilot & Today newspaper. "We had just come in town and we were prepared to buy groceries from a store but everything was closed."
Thousands of people were in the Steamboat Springs area at the end of June and early July for the Rainbow Family gathering north of town. At times, the relationship between members of the nomadic group and authorities was tense and a number of citations were issued.
Assistant District Attorney Kerry St. James said the men were facing the felony because they trespassed onto property without permission and took something that did not belong to them. He said the plea bargain was the suspects' decision.
"They had a choice between accepting a deferred felony with 90 days in jail or a misdemeanor conviction with six months in jail," he said. "They agreed to spend the six months in jail."
Don Wirtshafter, an attorney in Ohio who represented many Rainbow Family members over the summer, said Charle and Siller were forced to choose between two evils.
"A suspended sentence would have worked for these boys, but when a prosecutor is really going after you, the best thing you can do is plea," he said. "At best, this case is bizarre."
Charle's mother, Shaune McCarthy Charle, called the jail sentence a joke.
"It's really amazing and unbelievable how taking garbage out of a Dumpster became a felony," she said. "(St. James) is completely incorrigible."
Six months for garbage diving? What am I missing?
Inspector Javert would be proud of those policemen.
I know they don't want people violating the health code laws, so maybe the fine them, but six months???
Bet the same men would get the same 6 months for shooting a racoon "stealing" out of their own garbage can.
Why isn't this produce first being offered to a "soup kitchen" instead of being tossed? Bruised fruit may be unsellable, but that doesn't mean it is inedible.
Just how is it that you can be charged with stealing that which someone else threw away? Once thrown away, doesn't it cease to hold value to the one who threw it away? Especially since it was only food items.
Sometimes I wonder if these kind of people deliberately want to reserve a place in Hell by showing such contempt for the poor and less fortunate.
Hippies invading town. There's probably more to the story then the media is reporting.
This is reminiscent of the 60s when a lot of brutal things were done to long hairs around the country by corrupt law enforcement.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Was that the guy from Les Miserables?
What happened to that city council person?
Sheesh! If that's a crime, my son should be serving a life sentence!
Every day, on his way home from school, he cut behind a florist shop and brought me trashed flowers.
That's what I'm thinking.
After having the 'Rainbows' in our area for a gathering, I can totally see where this town is coming from. I am not even a bit convinced that these two were willing to 'pay' for anything. The theft rate in our area went up considerably and to top it off, the group actually got insulted when they were removed from businesses. Most businesses today don't have a huge profit margin, so to have a 'wave' of people come through town stealing whatever they can get their hands on is not a good thing. Also they are not too kind to the environment as they left the area they 'celebrated' in a huge mess. So six months, so what, they will be out in time for the next gathering.
I've got nothing against your run-of-the-mill hippie; hell, I sport a pony-tail and play in a Grateful Dead band. But the Rainbow folks are something else entirely. They make me look like a corporate CEO.
I think the City was sick of 'em. That doesn't excuse the harsh treatment, but it explains it.
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