The Bunker Blog

This one doesn’t specifically fall under the “Idiot Parent” award category, but since Louis Shaffer is related to at least 2 of the kids involved here, I figure, close enough.

Louis Shaffer, 18, of Stamford, CT, along with Lisa Shaffer, 22, and Jacqueline McCoogle, 21, attempted to shoplift some where around $1000.00 from their local Walmart. They also had three small children with them at the time. As they exited the store, they were approached by store loss prevention officers.

Louis Shaffer ran away from loss prevention, taking one of the children with him. He was found soon after by police trying to climb into a dumpster at the rear of a nearby building. He had already placed the 5-year-old into the dumpster when police apprehended him.

The Shaffers and McCoogle were charged with 4th degree larceny, risk of injury to a minor, and conspiracy to commit 4th degree larceny.

So, basically, Shaffer goes into a Walmart with three little kids and shoplifts. Then, when store loss prevention officers attempt to apprehend him, he runs off with one of the kids. He attempts to hide both the child and himself in a nearby trash dumpster to escape police. In the process, Shaffer abandons his two accomplices and the other two children.

If these kids do belong to Shaffer, which is not clear from any reports, then he definitely deserves to be in the running for Idiot Parent. If they are not his kids, then I hope the parents of the kids feel the way I would if someone took my kids into a store, stole in front of them, then tried to escape police when caught, endangering my kids and putting one of them in a trash dumpster.

Source: New Haven Register

Photo: Stock Xchng

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Two California “Moms” have been arrested after allegedly using their children to steal from their local Walmart. According the news story, they were using their kids’ seats to conceal Walmart’s merchandise. They were also ticket-switching, although I’m not sure why they bothered with that.

Christina Anguiano-Degonza, 26, and Juana Marin, 22, both of Hesperia, California were arrested after store loss prevention personnel stopped them as they attempted to exit the store with the stolen merchandise, concealed under their babies.

Again, we have a case where so-called parents put their children at risk by not only taking them along for their criminal activities, but actually making them part of the crime. The kids didn’t have a choice, but the moms did. These kids could have been injured, and the moms would have been to blame. The truth is that every single apprehension made by a loss prevention agent has the potential to turn violent. LP agents never know when a shoplifter is going to run, fight, or otherwise endanger themselves or others (including customers, employees, or their own kids).

This kind of thing is becoming a regular feature here on the Bunker Blog. I think maybe I’ll put all these stories, and include future ones, into a series here. It will take some work, but I think you, my readers, may be surprised when you see just how many parenting geniuses are out there using their kids as cover for their crimes.

These people have absolutely no character. They are not respectable in any way to me. I simply can’t believe that anyone who loves their children at all would take them out to help them commit crimes. The more I see it, the uglier it gets to me.

Earlier on, when I first started blogging, I wrote about a couple who actually ran off and left their daughter behind while escaping from LP and Police during a shoplifting apprehension attempt. That story still bothers me. What was worse, was that I got some comments from people accusing me of being too hard on them in the article. What? These people get caught stealing and run, leaving their little girl behind. I mean they ran off, jumped into a car, and left their little girl standing in the parking lot crying, no doubt scared to death. She was 10 years old, by the way. And, this particular incident did turn violent because mom’s boyfriend got involved in a scuffle with store employees. The news story never mentioned any charges of child endangerment, etc., although the mom was charged with robbery versus shoplifting due to the scuffle.

I wonder sometimes what it would be like to be a child and have to say to your friends, “My mom is a thief”. Can you imagine that?

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Police in Woodstock, GA arrested three people yesterday for running a theft ring between north Georgia and Florida. James Jesse Clay, of Silver Creek, GA, is suspected to be the ring leader. Also arrested were Anna Marie Gillespie and Ashley Elaine Waller, both also of Silver Creek.

The group’s method of theft was to purchase electronics from Walmart stores in both states, then go back into the store and pick up identical merchandise and take it out the front door without paying. They used the receipts as “proof of purchase”.

When they were caught and arrested, Waller’s three year old daughter was with them. The daughter was taken into protective custody and turned over to the Department of Family and Children Services.

Oh, by the way, James Jesse Clay is a registered sex offender in Florida, who “failed to register” in Georgia. So, let’s examine Ashley Waller’s parenting here. First, she is accused of theft by receiving stolen property and intent to cheat or defraud a retailer. While allegedly commiting these crimes, she exposed her own child to danger (there is ALWAYS the threat of violence in a criminal act). On top of that bit of genius, she was with a registered sex offender who was also allegedly stealing merchandise, and who had not registered as a sex offender at his new location.

In my opinion, if these allegations are true, Ashley Waller is among the worst of the worst when it comes to shoplifters. She not only victimized the stores she helped steal from, but she victimized her own daughter by exposing her to criminal activity, and then the trauma of being taken from her momma by police and social workers.

Does this make you angry? Does anybody feel sorry for Ashley Waller? Want to talk about it? Leave a comment here so we can discuss it.

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