So, the next time you’re out doing a bit of family shoplifting, be prepared to leave someone behind. This shows a great deal about the character of these people. They have no loyalty, even to their own kids.
To me, this is as low as you can get. First you steal, and then you are so desperate to protect yourself that you run away, leaving behind your own child to fend for herself, amongst strangers.
No mention of child abuse or child endangerment charges, though; although she was charged with robbery. Once again, it seems like somebody is missing the bigger picture. Of course she should be charged with robbery, but what about the fact that she abandoned her own child to protect her own hide? Is that just forgotten? Not by me…
Thanks to PrivateOfficer.com for the story:
Mission KS. Jan 5 2008
A couple accused of shoplifting ran from the store and left behind a 10-year-old girl.
It happened at the Family Dollar store on North Conway in Mission. Workers confronted a couple for shoplifting and found stolen towels in the woman’s bag.
Store employees called police and tried to keep the couple in the store. But the man pushed a worker away from the door and they both ran.
News reporters spoke to the worker that was pushed. She says, “The husband ran at me, pushed me out of the way. I grabbed him and tried to stop him. Then the lady screamed at me to let him go, because he would try to hit me… I tore his shirt.”
Workers tell us the couple had two children with them, a boy and a girl. They say the couple was holding the girl and they thought they wouldn’t leave without her. But they ran out the door, leaving her behind.
Workers tell us the boy headed back to the store to get his sister, but the woman shouted at him to get in the car.
The girl was taken to the Mission Police Department. Her mother turned herself into police just before 5 PM. She’ll face robbery charges, instead of theft. Police say this is because pushing the worker is considered an assault.
Officers are working to track down the mother’s boyfriend. They say he was shoplifting with her.
Shoplifters flee, leave child behind www.privateofficer.com « Lpwire’s Weblog
Technorati Tags: loss prevention,shoplifting parents,child abandonment,shoplifting,retail theft,asset protection
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Coryan // Jan 7, 2008 at 6:13 am
Very interesting blog! It doesn’t surprise me that criminals would dump their child to save their own arses.
BTW, I’m visiting from your comment on Remarkablogger.
2 mik // Feb 10, 2008 at 3:43 pm
sounds like you think you’re somehow above these people because you wouldn’t do that. do you know everything about their situation? you would do exactly the same in their position, I can assure you. I have seen people do things they would never have even considered when circumstances turn against them. And almost always the cause is laws which are designed to protect people who have enough money to not worry about such trivial matters as whats right and wrong, but punish those who do not have the resources to comply.
3 admin // Feb 10, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Thanks for the comment, mik.
Let me respond by saying you make some assumptions about me which are false. First, I have been at the bottom, and I never resorted to theft as a means to get by. Second, I have 2 kids, and they are the most important people in my life. I would never, ever, put them in harm’s way like this. No matter the circumstances, I wouldn’t risk the safety or wellbeing of my kids. Even if I did feel like stealing was the only way to survive, I would NOT expose my kids to it, and I would NEVER leave one of them behind just to save myself.
Finally, my experience tells me that 99% of the time, it is not necessity that drives thieves to steal, but greed. So I may not know everything about their situation, but the statistics are in my favor. They were probably stealing because they thought the reward outweighed the consequence.
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