GREEN cars = Jail Time!

[Firebolter]

This is like something you'd see in a SITCOM like Seinfeld………unbelievable
---------Article:
An electric car owner in Georgia is all charged up after spending the night in jail.

One Saturday in November, Kaveh Kamooneh drove his Nissan Leaf to the Chamblee Middle School near Atlanta to pick up his son from tennis practice, plugging the car in to of the school’s electrical outlets in order to charge its battery while he left it parked, WXIA reports.

When he returned to the vehicle about 20 minutes later, a police officer was waiting by it and told Kamooneh that he was going to charge him with theft of the electricity, but let him leave the scene.

Kamooneh estimates that he used about five cents worth of power while the car was plugged-in.

Eleven days later two police officers showed up at Kamooneh’s home to arrest him for “theft by taking without consent.” He then spent over 15 hours in the DeKalb County jail while being processed.

Chamblee police Sergeant Ernesto Ford told WXIA that he decided to pursue the arrest warrant after investigators determined that Kamooneh didn’t get permission from the school to use the outlet.

“A theft is a theft,” Ford said.

Kamooneh plans to fight the charges, arguing that “not all takings are theft.” He compares his case to drinking water from a school spigot, or plugging a cell phone into an outlet without permission, and says that no records exist of anyone being charged with theft for either activity in the jurisdiction.

In the meantime, electric car owners take note: Ford says he’d “absolutely” file charges again under the same circumstances.

[Rut Row]

good grief - but this does highlight a new need - parking meter like recharging stations - and locks on external electrical outlets!

[phoo]

This isn't the same as plugging in your car to your neighbor's house overnight, which would be theft in my opinion.

Regardless of whether you think this is theft or not, I would hope nobody thinks 15 hours in jail is an appropriate course of action.


Thanks,

~Patrick

[Firebolter]

I agree he was treated wrongly. They could have easily wrote him a warning ticket and told him to pass the word or something like that. I understand the other side of the coin though as well, make an example cause with all of these new electric cars coming about, a lot of cheap, greedy tree huggers will go somewhere and park their cars and leave them to get a "free" charge without permission form business' and private property etc.

I think a warning ticket for first offense and then fines for subsequent infractions. I know it would piss me off if someone plugged in a device to my service without permission.

This is just starting, remember when people used to shoot each other over parking spots? Well I see some shootings coming over "electrical theft"

[Skinny-J]

The guy didn't take any thing that wasn't already his. I guarantee he paid more than $.05 in property/income/sales taxes on which that school operates. Any cop with common sense would have found this laughable. And the fact that he was carted off to jail should scare the hell out of us; this could have been any of us for anything as meaningless.

And oh the irony; on one hand you have the government mandating clean energy, shoving things like ethanol down our throats, and handing out tax subsides for buying these electric cars; and then the other part of the government throws him in jail for actually using the car.

This country is lost...

[Firebolter]

This country is lost...

Regrettably, I have to agree, but the one ray of hope I am seeing this week in polls is the "millennials" are waking up to the "real" story the current admin is trying to force feed them and realizing they effed up and were snookered.

I found it extremely interesting that 53% of them surveyed (18-29 years old) would change their vote in the last prez election if they could……..

Truth is out, facts is facts, the White House is FULL of hypocrisy and do as I say, don't do as I do. Congress is right behind.

[Taylor]

Don't get me started on our government. Back to the post, no matter how you look at it he was stealing services. This is the same thing I deal with on most of my jobsite's. People see a dumpster and think it's there for them to fill up for free. If everyone with electric cars went to the schools to charge up for free because their tax's pay for it you would have lines like we had for gas back in the 70's.

[hondahawkrider]

Taken to jail, no.. Ticket w/fine... No prob..

I get the whole wanting to make an example of a guy who just thought he could plug in without having to get permission, etc... However, pick a better example than a guy who stole 5 cents...

As for the state of the country, no exactly great. But I believe were in a lot better shape now, that if we had elected the "other" guy... Hopefully, next election, it won't be the lesser of two evils..