Posted on 02/22/2012 7:27:43 AM PST by CedarDave
MORIARTY — Matthew Schindele and Lauren Medina had a nice romantic date at McCall’s Pumpkin Patch last October to walk through the haunted barn and corn maze.
But that date didn’t really end until Tuesday in Torrance County Magistrate Court where the Albuquerque pair, both in their early 20s and University of New Mexico students, were found guilty of shoplifting an item worth $250 or less.
The heist? Pumpkins no larger than a volleyball and worth no more than $5.
“It’s not the dollar amount we’re talking about,” Magistrate Steve Jones said. “We’re talking about something you took without paying for.”
The case has attracted national attention and plenty of criticism. Comments on message boards criticize the court system, the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office and McCall’s Pumpkin Patch.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
McCall’s Pumpkin Patch in Moriarty was the setting for a criminal case that has attracted nationwide attention: the theft of a couple of pumpkins. The two students convicted of shoplifting Tuesday said they never intended to steal the squash in question.
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(For ABQ Journal articles requiring a subscription, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article for free after watching a short video commercial.)
Nothing says romance like theft!
Certainly does not sound excessive to me. I'm getting tired of jerks like these two who by petty thievery or vandalism ruin everything for everybody else.
one wonders why this is news in the first place.
What’s the big deal? They are thieves and they got off light in my opinion. Guiliani straightened out New York by no longer tolerating petty crimes such as jumping the subway turnstiles (cost less than a pumpkin which takes all summer to grow) or requiring payment for squeegying a windshield; it sent a message that needed to be heard and NY was the better for it.
On SS you have to pay.
This happened on FRIDAY.
I'm not exactly sure what the details of the charge were so I've asked Judge Jones to provide me with all the details so we can review his actions in detail.
I also pointed the judge to the company website and what it says about selling or giving away pumpkins.
Unfortunately, the article was excerpted and one has to register to read the whole thing. Maybe they didn’t pay the admission?
Now you’re in trouble. If there’s one thing judges hate it’s uppity citizens who try to block “justice” with facts. :)
We'll check his driver's license if he comes here and lock him up for not having one of them there International doo-hickies! FUR SHUR. (/s)
Wait until the Great Pumpkin hears about what happened to her cousins...
I’m glad they got collared.
Pumpkin theivery is a gateway crime to full grinch-hood.
On SS you have to pay.
This happened on FRIDAY.
The website shows them closed on Mondays. For Tues-Friday, they are only open to scheduled groups (usually teachers and classes, but other arranged groups as well). They are only open to the general public on Sat-Sun.
So, how'd two folks on a date get in on a non-general public day?
We went to McCall's last year. A call to their number, prior to our visit, resulted in a message with similar details.
Here's the link to their admission policy: http://mccallpumpkinpatch.com/schedule-admission/
and one to the "Teacher's Page" showing the details of what is included in the admission for the scheduled groups and what's available to them in the way of activities/concessions: http://mccallpumpkinpatch.com/teachers/
This is the second theft of pumpkin story from McCalls pumpkin patch that I have seen since yesterday.
WARNING: McCalls prosecutes theives.
That's the rules ~ I'm glad you read the rules.
What I want to know is on what basis do you go to a place, participate in whatever, spend money ~ presumably on admissions ~ and you walk out with a pumpkin just like the rules say ~ and then they charge you with theft.
I think there's some serious factoids missing in the news story. It's not our job to make them up for the cops or the judge. That's why I asked the judge to tell us what the charge was about ~ after also letting him know he'd become an international cause celebre and would probably need to relocate given the fact he was now on the major tourist tracks into and out of the Desert Southwest!
There may be some factoid we all ought to know about ~ but so far none of the people in the know have told us.
No. You don't have to register or subscribe; see post #3:
"For ABQ Journal articles requiring a subscription, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article for free after watching a short video commercial."
Maybe they didn’t pay the admission?
The article doesn't say anything about the admission price or give the date of the incident.
Here's a link to another news article that shows the specific event: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/alleged-pumpkin-caper-goes-to-court. This article specifically mentions that the pumpkins are not for sale during this event.
And here's a link to the Haunted Farm site that shows nothing about pumpkins being included in the price of admission - also acknowledging that this is a separate event from the daytime-only pumpkin patch activities: http://mccallshauntedfarm.com/main.htm
not related too - not related to... sheesh.
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