Pregnant Mom Arrested Because a Sandwhich!

[Natalka]

The couple was initially charged with fourth-degree theft, a petty misdemeanor, according to the city prosecutor's office. However, Safeway now says it will not press charges.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20128876-504083/pregnant-hawaii-mom-arrested-for-stealing-$2-sandwiches-state-briefly-takes-daughter-away/

[gameprogirl]

I'm glad they dropped the charges and I'm also glad this gained media attention, so real thieves will know stores are not fooling around anymore.

Perhaps this will serve as a warning to pay for things before you consume them. I am sick of paying higher produce prices because people eat a dozen grapes everytime they visit the fruit department. Those people are stealing since there is no way to weigh what was eaten.

Not only that but all that stuff is covered in pesticides Yuckie!

[Kalmel]

Safeway Drops Theft Charges Against Pregnant Woman


November 2, 2011 9:00 AM Boomer Health and Lifestyle website

The Safeway grocery store in Honolulu that came under fire last week for arresting a couple for not paying for two sandwiches said it would drop charges against the pregnant woman and her husband. According to UPI, Nicole Leszczynski and her husband were arrested after eating the sandwiches while shopping, causing their three-year-old daughter to be placed with Child Protective Services.
Leszczynski said she made an honest mistake in not paying for the five-dollar sandwiches, telling reporters she simply forgot. She said store management wouldn’t allow her to pay for the food after she paid for her groceries and exited the store.
“It was a complete accident that turned out to have difficult consequences,” Leszczynski told Hawaii News Now on Tuesday.
She was particularly upset over what happened to her daughter during the ordeal, adding that it was “kind of harsh to go to jail and have your daughter removed from your care for something like this.”
UPI reported that news of the arrests quickly went national, inciting outrage and leading Safeway president of Northern California operations Karl Shroeder to personally call Leszczynski to apologize. The company agreed to drop the charges, saying in a statement that “it appears we may not have handled this matter in the best possible way.”

Well look at that..
"UPI reported that news of the arrests quickly went national, inciting outrage and leading Safeway president of Northern California operations Karl Shroeder to personally call Leszczynski to apologize. The company agreed to drop the charges, saying in a statement that “it appears we may not have handled this matter in the best possible way.

Now like others would put it... 1+++++++++

[Andit]

When did people get so lazy, irresponsible, inconsiderate? Is it really *that* difficult to have a snack before one goes shopping or wait 10 minutes until the shopping is done to eat?

I've gone grocery shopping since I was a teen, was diabetic from the time I was 10. Never once did I ever eat anything in a grocery store that hadn't been paid for. Even when I was a brittle diabetic, on dialysis, walking around on crutches with both legs in casts, did I ever snack in a store! Heck, the only things I've ever aten in a grocery store are the samples that are occasionally demoed in stores (& I always listen to the spiel & thank the demonstrator).

Sorry for being such a cranky person today. I went shopping for cheap Halloween candy & some lowllife caffeine obsessed degenerate spilled their coffee on all the boxes of chocolate.

Going to go eat the last of my Kitkats, that should make me feel better.

[Brandy Hunter]

Chocolates are all individually wrapped, you could have talked to the manager for a major deal there

[Andit]

Chocolates are all individually wrapped, you could have talked to the manager for a major deal there

I never even thought of that! I was just so livid, I couldn't think straight.

Now I'm really annoyed...not that my waistline needed more chocolate.

[abbasgirl]

I don't agree with eating things before you pay for them either. But I also think they were way too harsh. But I guess if that's how they normally handle shoplifting cases, then that's how they should handle them all, including this one.

[walkonby]

Well look at that..
"UPI reported that news of the arrests quickly went national, inciting outrage and leading Safeway president of Northern California operations Karl Shroeder to personally call Leszczynski to apologize. The company agreed to drop the charges, saying in a statement that “it appears we may not have handled this matter in the best possible way.

Now like others would put it... 1+++++++++

Hooray!!!! I was reading every page of the posts on this thread and I was feeling quite sorry for the family, I really just think they forgot about eating the sandwiches, I also wondered how much time passed from them eating till them actually checking out?
Anyways,thanks Natalka for posting that the charges were dropped.

Also my +1 here

[theweave]

Okay here is my 2 cents...

First of all, I think arresting them BOTH was going a bit far. They could have actually arrested one of them and the other one take custody of the child. On the other hand, and maybe they don't do this is the USA, don't quote me....but I know here in Canada, you can be charged and released immediately on a Promise To Appear. No trip to the police station, no handcuffs or anything. You are charged in the store and given a notice to appear for fingerprinting and then given a court date to answer to the charge.

That said, stealing is stealing. Stores cannot simply make things up as they go. If a store has a zero tolerance policy on theft than that is the end of the story.

Like I said, the easiest way out would have been to let one take the fall and let the other one take the child home. At least that is the way that I look at it.

[Jasminenicole]

I'm not one too eat in the store before I have paid. But the article did say that they had gotten lost on their way to get groceries... so I could see why they might be hungry.

If it was an honest mistake and she offered to pay for them right away, I don't see why they needed to take such harsh actions. People do make mistakes, yes sometimes people are out to steal but not every one has those intentions.