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.
Agreed! SNAFU
The former owner of things placed in trash intended for disposal has no rights of ownership in the item and no expectation of privacy in the contents. (U.S. Supreme Court).... Moreover, it cannot be trespass since it is a business open to and inviting the public. The prosecutor is a shill for the business interest and the poor defendant doesn't know his rights in such a case. There is no crime in this scenario.
They got more time than Sandy Berger.
The talk show hosts really ripped him so I imagine he eventually lost his seat on city council.
But in Florida you never know.
Al Rantel was big in South FLA then...I bet he remembers. Of course he's doing talk in LA now.
You hit it on the head.
I have friends who have attended the Rainbow Gatherings (I have some pretty flakey friends), and they tell that same story from the inside, too.
"Broken-down and dirty...dressed in rags...they found a dirty-faced kid in a garbage can"
Location, location, location!
Yep.
Nifong, Fitzgerald, they are all nuts.
And what horrors will they face in prison?
Sick.
That may be. But the context -- a Rainbow Gathering -- places an entirely different level of concern on the single instance. I agree the guys shouldn't have been nailed to the wall. But the fact that they were part of a huge group, most of whom (including possibly these two) would be all too willing to steal NON-trash items, gives the City a different and harsher perspective.
I don't excuse the City's action, but I understand it.
If they're typical Rainbow folks, they'remellow, easy-going pacifists. They'll end up having the crap kicked out of them, and probably butt-raped. It's not a pretty picture.
I would think a felony if they did not rinse the throw away vegie/fruit.
Sheesh. Remind me to pay 50 cents before the trash goes out.
If it was so good as theft why not food save it or give it away?
Something is fishy here.
First the Airports now the trash bins? /sarcasmmm
Rainbow People
Well I'm not laughing. I don't wish that kind of assault on anyone. If it is a good thing for someone to get a type of punishment, then it should be part of sentencing. We should clean up prisons vigorously to eliminate that kind of danger that hangs over them. At least try hard.
What if the trash dumpster is located in a fenced locked area and they break into that? They have that alot here at fast food places and retail stores.
LOL:) I could be wrong, but I don't think they will get butt-raped in Steamboat Springs.
They trespassed on the property of Sweet Pea Produce to steal the food. If one of them had fallen ill, was hospitalized or died from eating from the garbage owned by Sweet Pea Produce, lawyers would have been salivating to get as much money as possible. Many states have laws that restaurants must throw the food out at the end of the day and not give to soup kitchens or to the homeless because of potential lawsuits. It's a shame too - lots of good food is thrown out because of lawsuit junkies and their attorneys.
That is cool, that he loves/loved you so much.
Most kids just want you to co-sign minus the floral arrangements.
But there weren't thousands of him doing stuff like that, and probably he hadn't pissed off the local cops much. The Rainbow folks tend to think of their gatherings as "home" but the the local towns and cities, these people are like an alien invasion.
Suppose your son and a few thousand buddies had just rolled into town and started picking up things... it's a different picture.
Still, it doesn't justify 6 months in jail. A couple of days would be more like it.
Potential lawsuits. Another thing to thank lawyers for.
This a joke? You can get less for a whole lot worse.
Sounds more like these two were outsiders and the locals were going to throw the book at them. The whole idea of six months is so over the top that it is ludicrous. And how can you have a felony for stealing rotten fruit?
Once again, the justice system demonstrates why I hold minimal respect for it...
Looks like a bunch of lazy misfits trying to relive the hippie era.
I agree completely -- I am appalled at the sentence, and the risk these guys will have in prison. My comments are only that I can explain the City's over-reaction in terms of dealing with the Gathering. Not that I agree with the sentence.
Like I said elsewhere, I have friends who attend the Gatherings, and they're mellow to the point of flaky. They would not do well in prison. Probably these guys are about the same -- mellow peaceniks. They'll get chewed up, and that's not right.
If they'd been illegal aliens? No problemo. No conviction. No jail sentence. Nada.
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