Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

EV Owner Arrested Over 5 Cents Worth of Electricity From School's Outlet

Posted by Soulskill on from the charged-for-charging dept.

sl4shd0rk writes "It seems you can be arrested in Georgia for drawing 5 cents of electricity from a school's outdoor receptacle. Kaveh Kamooneh was charged with theft for plugging his Nissan Leaf into a Chamblee Middle School 110V outlet; the same outlet one could use to charge a laptop or cellphone. The Leaf draws 1KW/hour while charging which works out to under $0.10 of electricity per hour. Mr Kamooneh charged his Leaf for less than 30 minutes, which works out to about a nickel. Sgt. Ernesto Ford, the arresting officer, pointed out, 'theft is a theft,' which was his argument for arresting Mr. Kamooneh. Considering the cost of the infraction, it does not seem a reasonable decision when considering how much this will cost the state in legal funds. Does this mean anyone charging a laptop or cell phone will be charged with theft as well?"

2 of 1,010 comments (clear)

  1. Re:More than theft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Did you get that out of your A$$, or thin air? You are quite incorrect.

    I'm a BSEE-toting master electrician.

    1) Commercial buildings, like that school, must have minimally 20 Amp minimally circuits- never 15.

    2) A 20 Amp breaker trips at 20 amps. 16 amps is the max continuous load current allowed (80%) but NOT the trip current.

    3) There certainly ARE 40 amp receptacles!! I've installed MANY! Go to your favorite hardware store and look for stove/dryer receptacles and you'll find them. There are several sizes and styles in 30, 40, and 50 amp range, including 3 and 4 prong (4 if neutral is needed - NEVER share ground with neutral!)

    And then you have twist-lock connectors which can go to hundreds of amps...

    Please don't write so authoritatively when you (obvious to me) don't know what you're talking about. You're misleading others who will easily believe you.

  2. Happened at the USA's fucked-up School District by McGruber · · Score: 5, Informative

    Chamblee Middle School (http://www.chambleems.dekalb.k12.ga.us/) is part of the Dekalb County (Georgia) School System. DCSS is the most fucked-up school district in the USA. The former Superintendent was arrested for theft by taking, the replacement Superintendent abandoned her job and the current Superintendent is a political hack who lacks the qualifications required to hold a teacher's license. The former COO was just found guilty of racketeering. The DCSS school board was removed by the state Governor and the school system is currently on "Accredited Probation", the only school system in the country with that status.

    Some recent news coverage of Dekalb County School System:

    Court upholds law used to suspend DeKalb school board members: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/court-upholds-law-used-to-suspend-dekalb-school-bo/nb4Cx/

    Ex-DeKalb school official found guilty of racketeering: http://www.11alive.com/news/article/313666/40/Verdict-reached-in-DeKalb-corruption-trial

    DeKalb teacher accused of beating special needs elementary student with stick: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dekalb-teacher-accused-beating-special-needs-eleme/nb26M/

    School superintendent negotiates settlement in expensive legal battle: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/school-superintendent-negotiates-settlement-in-exp/nb89X/

    DeKalb Schools placed on probation: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dekalb-schools-placed-probation/nTYSp/

    DeKalb’s graduation rate under the new state formula: 58.65% (Meaning that 42% of Dekalb Students DO NOT GRADUATE!) http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/dekalbs-graduation-rate-under-the-new-state-formula-58-65/