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| The face of a criminal: Cops said this woman is a thief because she fished $2.87 from an Ohio courthouse fountain. |
A woman named Diedre Romine, who has a mental disability, has no job and four cats, said she was out of money.
Out of desperation, she said, she fished $2.87 in coins out of the Logan County Courthouse fountain.
For her troubles, local cops charged her with petty theft.
So the most serious crime going on in Bellefontaine, Ohio was some woman taking coins out of a fountain? What a safe town that is!
I bet the cops were proud, putting a stop for such a blatant crime.
Still, I don't think Romine really qualifies for "America's Most Wanted."
There are now conflicting reports that the charges might have since been dropped, but still. The victim in the crime, according to the police report, is the city of Bellefontaine.
I've heard of cities like Detroit being hard up for cash, but is Bellefontaine going under because Romine took $2.87 from a municipal fountain.
And isn't the cash in the fountain abandoned property? When somebody throws a penny in a fountain, isn't that sort of like throwing a bottle onto the curb, for some homeless guy to bring to the redemption center?
Also, isn't this prosecution in itself a waste of money? If it had gone through, the city or prosecutors or cops, somebody, taxpayers, basically, would have paid hundreds of dollars to punish a woman for allegedly stealing $2.87.
But laws must be obeyed! Only it still isn't clear exactly who got hurt here.
In any event, things are looking up for Romine. People felt bad for her, for being prosecuted like this, so they're raising money to make sure she and her cats are properly housed and fed.
I'm thinking of going to Bellefontaine, Ohio and throwing a penny into the Logan County Courthouse fountain. My wish will be for the local cops to have some common sense for a change.
I grew up in Bellefontaine, Ohio and lived always within 10 minutes of the town. This type of thing happens quite a lot, the cops there really don't have much to do so they try and catch you doing stupid things. Theres actually a spot in town you can't turn at during a small window of time during the weekdays. Cops will sit and wait at that intersection and just wait for someone to turn there. Because they really don't have better things to do.
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