Electric car owner charged with stealing 5 cents worth of juice

[onehandle]

Source: 11 Alive

CHAMBLEE, Ga. -- One Saturday in November, Kaveh Kamooneh drove his Nissan Leaf to Chamblee Middle School, where his 11-year-old son was playing tennis. Kamooneh had taken the liberty of charging the electric car with an exterior outlet at the school. Within minutes of plugging in the car, he says a Chamblee police officer appeared.

"He said that he was going to charge me with theft by taking because I was taking power, electricity from the school," Kamooneh said. Kamooneh says he had charged his car for 20 minutes, drawing about a nickel's worth of juice. Don Francis of Clean Cities Atlanta, an electric vehicle advocacy group, says the estimate of 5 cents is accurate.

"I'm not sure how much electricity he stole," said Chamblee police Sergeant Ernesto Ford, but he added: It doesn't matter. "He broke the law. He stole something that wasn't his." Sgt. Ford says the officer should have arrested Kamooneh on the spot. But he didn't. Instead, the officer filed a police report. Then 11 days passed, and two deputies showed up at his house in Decatur.

"They arrested me here at about eight o'clock at night," Kamooneh said. Ford said he sought the arrest warrant after determining that school officials hadn't given Kamooneh permission to plug in his car. Ford said Chamblee Police did so without asking school officials if they wanted to prosecute the alleged theft of electricity. A DeKalb Schools spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Read more: http://www.11alive.com/news/article/314666/40/Electric-car-owner-charged-with-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-juice

[OneCrazyDiamond]

1. Stealing electricity from a public school is pretty low.

I am sure if he had asked permission, they would have said yes.

Community service?

[struggle4progress]

52. If he'd asked permission, they would have reminded him that he wasn't supposed to be there

without permission, and that he probably remembered their earlier encounters

[kristopher]

57. Are you certain his son isn't a student?

The guy has an address 14.5 miles away.

How do you know they aren't just covering their ass?

[struggle4progress]

60. The county school system has a locate-school-by-address tool: if I plug in his address in Decatur,

Chamblee Middle School isn't a possibility; and the press reports his son doesn't attend Chamblee Middle

[kristopher]

61. I saw two reports that he was.

However they could have been based on assumptions. It doesn't really matter though since we know that the District policy is one that clearly establishes a "use by permission and pay" policy for the tennis courts and the parking lot. Now, I doubt seriously if, as a routine matter, they enforce that on individuals, but it does put them squarely in the right even if they are wrong in how they handled it.

[struggle4progress]

62. In early reports, he said he had come to watch his son play tennis at the school,

which most of us would read as his son participating in a school event. Then he said he brought his son to the school for tennis lessons, which many of us would read as his son participating in a tennis lessons offered by the school. Then he said nobody was ever there except him, his son, and the tennis instructor. But according to the City Manager's statement yesterday, he (not his son) was playing tennis

[kristopher]

59. I just discovered the guy might be getting off easy.

http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/operations/facility-use-agreement.pdf

Use of Facilities Application/Agreement
...
...

Outdoor Facilities (practice fields, tennis courts, parking lots, tracks)
$120.00 minimum for first three hours or less;
$40.00 per hour or fraction thereof above three hours


I also see it is a very troubled school district.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeKalb_County_School_District

[struggle4progress]

72. That's interesting. Thanks for digging this stuff up

[kristopher]

73. Thank *you*

[OneCrazyDiamond]

65. Ah, then just a low life.

Schools aren't getting free electricity, and their funds are literally "for the children".

[ABCin2014]

81. And he was an asshole to the LEO.

Argumentative, and falsely accusing the officer of damaging the door to his car. He deserves whatever he gets.

[BlueJazz]

2. LOL!..This is perfect timing. I'm fixing the computer of a Policeman who lives around ...

...the corner. I showed him this post.
He said: That's just silly. I would have told him to unplug it or turned my head and drove away...

(He's one of the smart, good ones)

[7962]

3. Great PR for the police............

Now they look like fools nationwide. Here on DU for everyone to see and I'm sure it will make Drudge and on and on.

[boomer55]

4. so if I went into the school and drank from the fountain without asking would I be arrested for

stealing as well?

[defacto7]

6. Great analogy.

No difference... unless you have an agenda.

[TorchTheWitch]

70. stupid analogy

The water fountains are OFFERED by the school for people welcomed in the school to use. In fact, they're actually required by law to offer them. The school does not, however, make any such offer to the public to use it's electrical outlets. Any dope knows that the electrical outlets on the outside of the building are for the use of the school, only. Surely anyone can understand that it wouldn't be acceptable for people to bring their rechargeable devices to the school for the purpose of recharging them on the school's dime anymore than it would be acceptable for someone to use the outside outlets on people's homes on the owner/renter's dime.

Electricity isn't free anymore than water or telephone lines are. While the school probably wouldn't care if you asked to plug your cellphone in to recharge it or fill a bucket of water for some personal purpose or use a telephone in the school's office to make a quick local call, one should still ASK and not be expected to be given permission for a long distance phone call, an electricity hog like a car or want to use an outdoor water spigot to wash all the cars in the parking lot. Even when I went to high school (which was way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth) the outdoor electrical outlets were shut off unless a maintenance person needed to use one and so were the water spigots specifically so that people couldn't steal large amounts of electricity or water from the school.

This guy knew he was charging up his electric car on the school's dime, and thankfully he got caught before he could rack up any more than the five cents that he did because there's no questions whatsoever that had he not been caught at it he would have charged his car on the school's dime all the way up and may have continued doing it when the car needed it so someone else would be unknowingly paying for the electricity which is no more acceptable than siphoning gas out of other peoples' cars without their permission. It's not like he was recharging a cellphone or wanted to use his hairdryer or some other small item, and even if that's all it was he still should have asked permission whether it was an electrical outlet inside or outside of the school.

[Ash_F]

7. Good point. Schools have a water bill too. /nt

[thefool_wa]

10. What about plugging in your cell phone?

Somethign that happens in the stands of the local high school football stadium all the time as it has SEVERAL unlocked exterior outlets.

One could even argue that an unsecured exterior outlet on the outside of a PUBLIC building is meant for all.

This is fucking absurd. Just another example of a cop who became a cop to push people around.

[defacto7]

32. You just never know these days

when it's your time to get arrested for nothing. Just be sure you never go out of the house... even then you can never be sure.

[struggle4progress]

45. Charging a leaf is like charging nine or ten thousand cellphones

[Festivito]

16. Did you drink 5 cents worth? Hmmm? Wifi? As well! Flushing. Toilet paper.

Doesn't matter. You did not have permission from school officials. Expect to be arrested at your home. They have video in the school.

Oh, this is fun.

What about an internet wifi service. Oh, my. Your phone connected as you walked by the school after having had tacit permission one visit before!

Conditioned air. Did you have permission to breath our conditioned air.

If you go to the bathroom. Don't flush. Those cameras have sound. We can tell that you did flush!

[struggle4progress]

50. I bet if you walked into a school and started taking rolls of toilet paper, you'd find

they didn't take kindly to it

[Festivito]

66. You're right, but that's a buck plus human-to-replace-it cost. Much more than 5 cents.

If you want to argue the point, argue that it is more likely 25 cents worth, or more.

Even with that he'd had to have been using that plug day after day all year long year after year decade after decade before that cost would approach the $200-$500 cost now spent on staff and police time.

I think it boils down to the idea that middle school teachers are not good at making such calculations, and the administration is worse.

[Posteritatis]

22. Only if it offends competing industries. (nt)

[Ed Suspicious]

24. The line does seem rather arbitrary, doesn't it?

[jmowreader]

83. If you'd been told not to do it, then yes

The perp in this story had been trespassed from the tennis courts because he's previously disrupted activities held there, which is what the article says. This time, he went to the school, plugged in his car and played tennis on courts he wasn't supposed to be on anyway. It looks to me like the cops chose the charge that would make the biggest dent in his thick skull.

[defacto7]

5. Should I say "agenda"?

That's nuts in a can. What does the school system say about it? Aren't they the ones who have to press charges by complaining that he "stole" AC? If they don't file a complaint there's no charge of stealing. If he asked the school, they said no and he did it anyway, they may have a complaint. Since when are the police the plaintiff, the enforcer, the DA, and the judge?

This is purely a agenda against people who use alternate fuels by a small consortium of self-righteous conservative nut cases. At least that's how I see it considering the info given. I hope he sues the police department.

The whole police state thing has gotten way out of control.

[Jackpine Radical]

27. The offended party doesn't have to file a complaint.

It's enough that the cop saw the theft. At this point the only way the charges can be dropped is by the DA.

[defacto7]

28. So if the police call something a theft then that's what it is?

Unless of course the DA makes the determination is wasn't a theft or he wants to follow through on some personal agenda or he just doesn't care?

That's rather a deep hole of unscrupulous possibilities.

Thanks for the clarification.

[brooklynite]

43. Mo, if it IS a theft and the Police act, that's what it is...

Legally it's theft, even if 100 other people do it to and even if the amount is inconsequential.

[Jackpine Radical]

68. If the cop says it was a theft, this constitutes evidence that it was a theft.

The DA can then decide whether to file a charge or drop it. If he drops it, nothing more happens. If he presses the charge, the only way the accused has to show his innocence is to go to court and be tried in front of a judge or jury.

So no, the cops saying it's a theft doesn't make it so, but their statement constitutes evidence that it is so, and it is up to the court to decide whether that evidence is compelling enough for a conviction.

[kristopher]

46. Yes, say it again, "a(n) agenda against people who use alternate fuels"

The cop was probably drunk on Limbaugh marinated in petroleum. It makes more sense than any other motive.

[struggle4progress]

47. ... The school system issued a statement saying "the Dekalb County school district has cooperated

the investigation and will continue to do so" ...
http://www.11alive.com/News/Crime/314774/445/Cops-alleged-electric-car-owner-stole-10-25-worth-of-electricity
7:11 PM, Dec 4, 2013

[yurbud]

76. hybrid and even pure electrics are getting too popular, and successful large scale alt energy

in other countries is making it clear we DON'T need the fossil fuel companies to keep the lights on.

And that must be scaring the shit out of the very wealthy who depend on our dependence and their monopoly to stay in business.

Wouldn't it ironic if they bribed politicians to let them drill, frack, and run pipelines wherever the hell they wanted, but most customers stopped buying?

That would be the market at work.

[Kelvin Mace]

8. Can you say...

"Cop with an anti-green agenda"?

[thefool_wa]

9. They must have an awesome police force.

I mean if they have enough time to go after someone who just plugged their car in then every sex offender in that county must be accounted for and in prison. All the rapists and murders must be caught. Why else would they waste their time on this kind of horse shit.

[Poll_Blind]

11. Two key points, one obvious and one maybe not so obvious to everyone:

First, the article indicates that the police did not ask whether the school wished to press charges. Red flag number one. "Theft by taking without consent."

Second, and an even bigger red flag, IMO, is that after filing the police report eleven days elapsed. What does that mean, though? Why is that important? Well, during those eleven days at least a police officer or police officers took a look at that, weighed their options carefully, conducted some form of investigation and considered that they were making a solid arrest which would, presumably, not bring shame onto their department. Which is nonsensical. As Kamooneh pointed out, the "Theft by taking without consent" when applied to drinking water from a spigot (something which he alleges he witnessed, coincidentally) is the same thing- and yet the police had no interest in pursing that matter.

Why?

That's a great question, IMO. I'm thinking the answer to that question is either known to the police chief and that if I could wave a magic wand, I'd find out that they were in some discussion with prosecutors/council about it before moving ahead.

Will this blow up in the Chamblee police department's face? Since the school did not indicate whether it wanted to press charges (hint: Probably not) this makes the police and their higher-ups in the department look pretty damned shady.

Selective enforcement of laws like this is always a dead giveaway there's something else going on.

PB

[defacto7]

29. ^ this ^

n/t

[struggle4progress]

48. What's your evidence this is selective enforcement?

[QuestForSense]

12. Who pays this cop, the oil and gas industry?

[Alamuti Lotus]

13. How many hundreds (or thousands) of dollars of procedural expenses...

will be incurred to avenge this $0.05 "theft"?

[shraby]

14. Does the guy who "stole" the juice pay taxes that help keep the school able to pay it's

electric bill, water bill, teachers, various supplies that keep a school going? If so, that electricity is partly his anyway.

[struggle4progress]

49. I wouldn't try testing that theory in practice if I were you

[marble falls]

15. Hang him for by-passing state highway taxes on gasoline! "It ain't the nickel, its the principle!!!"

[groundloop]

17. They need to hear a few hundred opinions on how stupid this sounds

Chamblee Police Department facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chamblee-Police-Department/450474428378668


City of Chamblee website, Police Department feedback:

http://www.chambleega.com/FormCenter/Police-5/Police-Feedback-45


Contact information for city government:

City of Chamblee GA
5468 Peachtree Rd.
Chamblee, GA 30341
Ph: [phone]
Fx: [phone]

[defacto7]

34. One last thing...

Their 15 minutes. Probably all it is.

[dhill926]

18. a nickel here, a nickel there....

hey....it adds up....

[struggle4progress]

38. The actual charge is theft of something between $10 and $25 dollars worth of electricity

[Ash_F]

40. The power company said four cents in the link.

What are you doing today?

[struggle4progress]

44. The power company estimate is based on an assumed amount of time he was plugged into the socket

that day. Four cents worth of electricity might have gotten him two or three miles in his Leaf. He's said he has been taking electricity there regularly for weeks. Do you think the school district should allow anybody who wants free electricity to come draw power there?

[kristopher]

51. Assuming it is an actual problem, was an arrest the wise way to address it?

Let's give them all of the benefit of the doubt and say they don't want a problem as EVs become common, how about a sign saying "Not for EV charging" or "For Faculty and Students only"?

[struggle4progress]

54. There's no busy-body over-bearing beat-cop story here: the original office was sent in response

to a phoned complaint and didn't arrest him but went back and filed a report. The department then investigated further and found the guy had a history of showing up at that school and using the tennis court when the school had other plans for it, which had led to a number of conflicts with school officials, who finally told him never to use the court without permission. He doesn't live anywhere near there and has no connection to the school, except for that history of showing up and acting a jerk: he lives in another town, ten miles away. Local police, not having jurisdiction in his town, handed over their reports to county officials, who ultimately arrested him for theft from the county schools

It doesn't sound to me like a big rush to judgment: it sounds to me like they weren't quite sure how to handle a jerk who regularly drove out of his way, to use a tennis court nowhere near where he lived and to grab free power week after week from the school system

[kristopher]

56. That name is listed at an address 14.5 miles from the school.

http://www.whitepages.com/directions/e6f7bcbc-e9bb-462f-8d87-a46fdf35d5ec

I'm guessing the reports stating his son is a student are correct.

While extremely relevant in the context of who to point fingers at, whether it is the school that is pushing it as part of a grudge match or the police isn't really the point of my question about how it should have been handled.

[csziggy]

63. That address is far outside the district for Chamblee MS

Attendance Areas for 2011–2012 School Year for Middle and High Schools: http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/redistricting/attendance-areas-approved-middle-and-high-schools-map.pdf
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/redistricting

The man lives in Decatur, several towns separate from Chamblee, where the school is. To see the distance put in his address and that of the school: Chamblee Middle School, 3601 Sexton Woods Drive, Chamblee, GA 30341

If the guy's son attends that school, either the kid lives with someone else or there have been special arrangements - or someone lied to the school district about their residence.

[kristopher]

64. I already did. It's 14.5 miles.

I lived nearly 20 miles from my middle school, even though there was one about 6 miles closer; so it seems possible util 'officially ruled out. Chambee is in the DeKalb School District.

It doesn't matter though, see post 59 at top of thread.

[struggle4progress]

69. Use the school locator tool at the DeKalb county school system website

[kristopher]

71. Why? I accepted csziggy's word.

I must have phrased it poorly, sorry.

[Ash_F]

78. No, but the school district should have been asked if they wanted him to be charged

These cops are assholes. They knew they couldn't charge him with trespassing without the school's request, so they instead charged him with theft, for which consent isn't needed. But they should still ask.

That makes them the bigger assholes.

[bucolic_frolic]

19. Two napkins at Fast Food is 5 cents too

They better arrest people fast

You know it's not that laws are not broken, or that the cops are
not right about these things

It's the use of public safety resources for truly trivial things
in what seems to me like SELECTIVE PROSECUTION

If 999 people get away with it and the 1 is caught, is that fair?

Seems unjust to me

[Chan790]

79. Those are some expensive napkins.

I buy them by the case from restaurant supply for $20/case. A case is 10-packs of 1000. Quick math, that means napkins cost 1/5 of $0.01 each.

[valerief]

20. I'm amazed the cop didn't tase him. I thought that's what they did to nonviolent

citizens. That or pepper spray and clubs.

I mean, it's clear the cop's an idiot, so how can he be an idiot and not be violent?

Amazing.

[struggle4progress]

41. The cop appeared on the scene because somebody called to complain: that's his job. The guy

told the cop he did it all the time and not to make a beig deal of it. The cop went back, filed his report, and was told to investigate further: when he did, he found the guy had numerous run-ins with folk at the school and had been told not to use the tennis courts without permission. They weren't sure how much power he'd stolen, but they estimated $10 to $25. The town police didn't arrest him: he lives in a different town, ten miles away, and the police handed the matter over to county authorities. The county sheriff arrested him for stealing from the county school system

[Butterbean]

21. The fact that this is not the title of a piece from The Onion just makes me cringe. n/t

[benh57]

23. Read the whole article - the guy was a douche

My initial reaction was 'wtf' like most of you.

But, read the article -- He had already been warned not to be on the school property. His son does not even go there. He was argumentative to the officer. Etc, etc. After reading the details, he deserves to be prosecuted just for being an ass.

[defacto7]

33. Prosecuted for being an ass....

Well... we're all going to hell.

[Kaleva]

25. Guy says he routinely plugged into accessible outlets to recharge his car...

without first asking permission.

I don't feel sorry for him. He comes across as a jerk.

[PoliticAverse]

26. "had previously been advised he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission"

"Mr. Kamooneh had previously been advised he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission from the school."

[defacto7]

30. Ooops....

but has nothing to do with theft.

[Ash_F]

35. Then he should have been charged with trespassing.

But he wasn't. Why? Sounds like a fishy excuse to make this seem less embarrassing to the department.

[struggle4progress]

37. Because the original phone call to the police was about the electricity theft, and the fact he was

once again using the tennis court without permission was only discovered later in the investigation of the electricity theft

[Ash_F]

39. That doesn't prevent them from charging him for it.

Did you even think about that comment before posting? You are only making it sound bulshitier.

[struggle4progress]

42. I don't know whose version is correct, but the charge is that he stole $10 to $25 dollars worth of

power -- and although he says he only stole a nickel's worth, he also made clear that he has plugged his car into the socket there routinely. The school told him not to use the tennis courts without permission -- after he had repeated conflicts with school personnel when his use of the court interfered with the school's use of the courts. His version of the story is that he took his son to the court there regularly for tennis instruction, but police say he was the one playing tennis, not his son. He doesn't live in Chamblee: he lives ten miles away in Decatur, where there are (in fact) free public tennis courts, so it's not really clear why he was doing a twenty mile round trip to play on the single court at Chamblee Middle School. The trespass may be relevant to a theft case, since one possible interpretation of the story is that he liked using the Chamblee Middle School court simply because he figured he could charge his car there for free, an idea that motivated him to make that drive week after week to a court he'd been told not to use without permission

[Ash_F]

74. Don't you think it sounds just as dumb when you say it though?

The police didn't charge him for 10-25$ because they thought he may have charged it there hundreds of times(that would be poor policing anyway). They charged him for that much because they are dumbasses.

And they charged him without asking anyone from the school because they are assholes.

Hope that cleared things up for you.

[struggle4progress]

75. They probably charged him with that amount, based on how long he told them he'd be coming

and recharging there (which he did tell them), based on specs for his vehicle, and based on local electric costs. You can chase down the info easily enough: I did, and IMO their estimate has correct order of magnitude

As for your claim, "they charged him without asking anyone from the school,"

#64: ... The report made its way to Sgt Ford's desk for a follow up investigation. He contacted the middle school and inquired of several administrative personnel whether the individual had permission to use power. He was advised no. Sgt. Ford showed a photo to the school resource officer who recognized Mr. Kamooneh. Sgt Ford was further advised that Mr. Kamooneh had previously been advised he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission from the school ... Based upon the totality of these circumstances and without any expert advice on the amount of electricity that may have been used, Sgt Ford signed a theft warrant ...

[Ash_F]

77. I am sorry I think the local power company would know better than this ignorant cop.

And they said 4 cents.

[defacto7]

31. Next time I get a soft drink at a food court...

and my wife doesn't... and later she takes a sip, I'll have to immediately call the cops and have her arrested.. or if I let her, we will both go to jail for her sipping .08 cents worth of soda from my cup.

That's the righteous thing to do.

[rucky]

36. As electric cars become more common, this will have to be addressed

this was over the top, but it could become a bigger issue in the future.

[Uben]

53. Turns out the cop was George Zimmerman in a costume....

He purchased a Robo-Cop suit and will be doing citizen patrols in near future.

[struggle4progress]

55. He was sent to investigate a phone complaint, investigated, came back, and filed a report

I don't see much parallel between that and a racist vigilante shooting an unarmed teenager

[kristopher]

58. At the scene the officer also got into a pissing contest with the guy

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/314666/3/Electric-car-owner-charged-with-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-juice

The police and the school are wrong. If you can't recognize abuse of authority in this I don't know what to tell you.

[groundloop]

67. OK, I've changed my mind on this..... the guy didn't belong there

At first it sounded like a ridiculous case. After reading that the guy had been told to stay off school property, and that he was basically an ass, I've changed my mind. Yes world, I'm a FLIP-FLOPPER (but I think it's justified when presented with facts).

Look, after all the horrible cases of shootings at schools over the past several years school administrators justifiably don't want people hanging around schools who don't belong there. This guy lives nearly 15 miles from the school (which given the population density there's no way his house in the same district as that school), and has been a trouble maker in the past. The school was very justified in wanting him to not be there and if it takes a silly sounding charge against him so be it (we all remember what the govt. finally got Al Capone for).

On a side-note, my step-son had several thousand dollars worth of tools and materials stolen from a house he was refurbishing. The thief was stupid enough to dump his trash in the construction dumpster while he was there, the police couldn't find enough evidence to make an arrest for theft but they at least got the guy for illegal dumping (maybe Arlo Guthrie could do a song about that ) So in this school case I can certainly see where the police would get the guy for whatever they could just to convince him to stay away from a school where he didn't belong.

[bitchkitty]

80. Chamblee police are UNREAL.

I speak from experience.

ETA - I spoke before I read the article. The Chamblee PD may well be assholes, but in this case, the guy pretty much brought it on himself by stupidity. If he hadn't acted like a stupid prick, he probably would not have been arrested.

[Ash_F]

82. Yeah but keep in mind that part of the article is only from the cop's perspective.

You know, the same cops that you know to be assholes. It may not have actually gone down like that.

[Orsino]

84. Stopped before he could steal more than 5 cents' worth, it sounds like.

Weird to arrest him, but perhaps he didn't charge up at home because he regards the world as his plug.