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

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?"

Comments

Cop was "in his car"?

[Pope]

from Ars:

"A short time later, he noticed someone in his car and went to investigate—and found that the man was a Chamblee police officer. "

So, cops just randomly enter other people's cars? I know I used to always lock mine if I wasn't in it.

Re:Theft

[chuckugly]

If you wouldn't have done it at a random stranger's house, why would you do it at your children's school without asking?

The same reason I'd take a piss in the school restroom without asking, but not in yours.