Man faces prison for allegedly stealing $1 soda from McDonald's - Polidicks

[quote=LAtimes] He's no Hamburglar. But a Florida man faces up to five years in prison after he was arrested on a felony charge of stealing a cup of soda from aMcDonald's. The Collier County Sheriff's Department arrested Mark Abaire, 52, last week on a felony theft charge. Authorities say he went into the fast-food restaurant on 14th Street North in Naples, asked for a cup for water and was then seen filling the cup with soda before taking a seat outside the restaurant and sipping the beverage. [B] The manager confronted Abaire and asked him to pay for the $1 soda. Abaire apparently refused. He then reportedly cursed at the manager and refused to leave when asked to do so, according to the Naples News, which reviewed the arrest report. Abaire, who is unemployed, has a history of minor petty theft convictions. That history led law enforcement officers to ratchet the case up from a misdemeanor to a felony. And in tough-on-crime Florida, this category of felonies carries a prison sentence of up to five years along with a $5,000 fine. The suspect faces additional charges of trespassing and disorderly intoxication.[/B] What's perhaps most interesting about this incident is the public reaction to the arrest. As we mentioned, Florida is known for its no-nonsense attitude toward lawbreakers. Yet many commenters at the Naples News seemed none too happy about taxpayer money being used to keep Abaire behind bars, where he remains because he has not yet been able to make his $6,500 bail and is likely to remain if convicted of all the charges against him. "So the taxpayer gets to pay for his lawyer, the trial, and his room and board all for the cost of a $1.00 soda which actually costs under a dime," said one poster. "Wow! and with the mark-up on their sodas they couldn't just let it go? Waste. Of. Time and Money," said another. Yet another commenter added: "Someone actually bothered the police with this?" Of course, despite the overall tenor of the comments, one fed-up-with-crime poster had this to say: "Let him meet ole Sparky." "Sparky" is a reference to the state's electric chair.[/quote] [url="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-felony-mcdonalds-20120424,0,886582.story"]Source[/url]. Good to see that the American Court System isn't wasting taxpayer's money and federal resources. :v:

A serial petty thief? Really? This is Florida though, so I'm not surprised at the sentence.

Who cares? I've stolen shit before, never get caught but I guarantee I'd only get a "Hey stop that!" and be removed from the place. Wasting the time of cops for something as small as that is silly.

Really. It costs less than ten cents and they couldn't just let him go. Congratulations Florida, you're even more pathetic than usual.

This is just a pathetic waste of time and tax money. [quote]Of course, despite the overall tenor of the comments, one fed-up-with-crime poster had this to say: "Let him meet ole Sparky."[/quote] Someone's blind to sarcasm...

its a [b]dollar[/b] both sides are retarded because they're threatening execution on him but the guy couldnt spend a fucking dollar on the soda

[QUOTE=J!NX;35739650]Who cares? I've stolen shit before, never get caught but I guarantee I'd only get a "Hey stop that!"[/QUOTE] Stop right there criminal scum, you just admitted to stealing. Have fun on death row in Florida.

[QUOTE=Death_God;35739661]its a [b]dollar[/b] both sides are retarded because they're threatening execution on him but the guy couldnt spend a fucking dollar on the soda[/QUOTE] He isn't facing execution, he is facing five years along with a $5,000 fine.

I used to ask for a free water, and after I finished that I'd fill the cup with a soft drink.

[QUOTE=Fangz;35739675]He isn't facing execution, he is facing five years along with a $5,000 fine.[/QUOTE] up to five years and a $5k fine he's a repeat offender. I don't really see anything outrageous about this

[QUOTE=Fangz;35739675]He isn't facing execution, he is facing five years along with a $5,000 fine.[/QUOTE] Seems a bit too much really

[QUOTE=J!NX;35739703]Seems a bit too much really[/QUOTE] Agreed. I really wish the bad reading rating still existed too.

[QUOTE=Fangz;35739727]Agreed. I really wish the bad reading rating still existed too.[/QUOTE] he was being hyperbolic you dunce

[QUOTE=Sanius;35739743]he was being hyperbolic you dunce[/QUOTE] I'm no I'm pretty sure I meant what I said unless I'm misreading your post?

He has a history of crime, this wasn't his first theft and it wasn't going to be his last either. All the people saying "taxpayer dollars! 1 dollar soda!" don't get the point, he's being charged because of the [b]intent[/b] to commit a crime, the fact that it's a low value item is irrelevant here.

[QUOTE=J!NX;35739780]I'm no I'm pretty sure I meant what I said unless I'm misreading your post?[/QUOTE] I was talking about deaths_god

make him pay the dollar job done. why is he facing 5 years in jail?

[QUOTE=Noble;35739785]He has a history of crime, this wasn't his first theft and it wasn't going to be his last either. All the people saying "taxpayer dollars! 1 dollar soda!" don't get the point, he's being charged because of the [b]intent[/b] to commit a crime, the fact that it's a low value item is irrelevant here.[/QUOTE] he was also charged with trespassing and disorderly intoxication which adds to the possible sentence [editline]27th April 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Drsalvador;35739793]make him pay the dollar job done. why is he facing 5 years in jail?[/QUOTE] why can't you read the bolded section of the article in order to answer your own stupid question?

I can see giving him jail time for a spree of petty thefts, but 5 years is way too long. At most, give him six months. Surely that'll wake him up?

[QUOTE=Drsalvador;35739793]make him pay the dollar job done. why is he facing 5 years in jail?[/QUOTE] No. Job not done. He had [b]intent[/b] to commit a criminal act, the intent is what he is being charged for! The fact that it was only a dollar is irrelevant And seriously guys, read the article. It says right there they asked him to pay the dollar and he refused, cursed at the manager, and then refused to leave. Reading articles before making judgments is a good thing.

[QUOTE=Fangz;35739630] The Collier County Sheriff's Department arrested Mark Abaire, 52, last week on a felony theft charge. Authorities say he went into the fast-food restaurant on 14th Street North in Naples, asked for a cup for water and was then seen filling the cup with soda before taking a seat outside the restaurant and sipping the beverage. [/QUOTE] So apparently doing this in Florida can get me arrested. I do this all the time in Arizona along with various other people, yet for some reason they decide to pick this guy? Sure he has various petty theifs, but as said previously a 5,000 dollar fine and 5 years in jail seems pretty insane and like many of the comments in the news report, a waste of money on. Absolutely amazed. He was intoxicated though, which means that well yeah, still five years is a pretty long time and 5,000 dollars is still insane.

If he's has a "history" of this sort of crime, then clearly this isn't just a one time thing, and he hasn't learned his lesson from whatever punishment the courts have issued in the past, so I don't really see the issue. Perhaps 5 years and $5000 is excessive, but that's the maximum they can seek on the charges, not what they are actually seeking (or maybe they are, the article doesn't specify).

[QUOTE=DaMastez;35739838]If he's has a "history" of this sort of crime, then clearly this isn't just a one time thing, and he hasn't learned his lesson from whatever punishment the courts have issued in the past, so I don't really see the issue. Perhaps 5 years and $5000 is excessive, but that's the maximum they can seek on the charges, not what they are actually seeking (or maybe they are, the article doesn't specify).[/QUOTE] If it's a history of just petty crimes, he probably at most had a few days in jail and majority of the time only was fined.

It isn't because he stole the shit, it's because he has a history of petty theft and was unapologetic about it. If he'd been like "alright, you got me, here's a dollar," it wouldn't have gone this far. People like this figure they can get away with the little shit if they play chicken with the law. Which is why he got sentenced. He figured nobody would press charges and/or the state would let it slide. He was wrong, and he has nobody to blame but himself. He's practically daring the legal system for a conviction, which is like taunting a bull. It doesn't end well. EDIT: Misphrased. Which is why he is [I]going[/I] to get sentenced.

Stealing stuff is no laughing matter. I was charged with a misdemeanor AND a felony charge. Went to jail for a night and was released. The court fees, time and trouble is not worth it for what you're going to steal. My case was dismissed when I had to take a "thief school" course basically and was freed. Not worth it at all. (I stole free sodas too in highschool). After that, I turned tail and decided I'm going to earn everything I want from then on. Been doing that ever since. Work hard, get paid; simple really.

I don't suppose it's a good thing that I do this occasionally (ask for a water cup and fill it with iced tea).

[QUOTE=Reds;35739654]Really. It costs less than ten cents and they couldn't just let him go. Congratulations Florida, you're even more pathetic than usual.[/QUOTE] probably costs less for mcdonalds due to the volume they buy but where I work every time someone gets a drink it costs about 22 cents

I'm glad this violent criminal is being taken off the streets.

[QUOTE=J!NX;35739650]Who cares? I've stolen shit before[/QUOTE] Watch out guys, we got a badass over here!

[QUOTE=McCarthy;35740337]Watch out guys, we got a badass over here![/QUOTE] not trying to act like a bad ass I was a kid, if you didn't do at least a [I]little [/I]crap then you are probably really boring unless of course you're a perfect, law bidding citizen that never has even so much as loitered.