OT:Weird shoplifting shakedown story, kinda long

Way OT but I gotta tell somebody. My sister was back in town last weekend and her former neighbor told her this. The gal, her neighbor, is a regular customer in a local bead store, you know the ones that are popping up here and there for the latest bead jewelry making craze. This store has been around for ten years or so, I'd guess. The lady makes nice jewelry and goes there to buy beads. She goes in, picks out some more pricey ones and shops around. Goes to check out and the owner says "you're trying to steal those and I'm calling the cops!" The customer is a soft spoken, well dressed, local lady with ample money who of course absolutely did not steal anything. Of course she denied it but the owner went on and on about stealing and the cops. The customer panicked when the owner said to dump out her purse and give her her ID. Sadly she complied. The cops came, interogated her, called her a "felon" and threatened to haul her to jail. They spoke privately to the owner. Then, GET THIS: The cops said "what we normally do in this situation is, you pay 5 TIMES the value of the items you tried to steal or we arrest you and have you booked." The lady panicked but was scared so she paid something like $57 to get out of it. What an effing shakedown!!! Someone else heard this story as it was being told and said they say a group of about 4-5 girls about 13 yrs old in the store crying and in a circle pooling their money. They had looked at someting off the rack and it broke so they had to do the same: pay 5 times or cops would be called. The owners are living in a huge mansion house and no one can figure out how a bead store could make that much money. Well, now we know. This is in a well known tourist town in a respected city. If anyone other than my sister had told me this I wouldn't have believed it.

"is a regular customer in a local bead store"

I'm guessing she *was* a regular customer...

If this thing is serious, go to a lawyer of her choice, draw up an affadavit, and file it with that town's municipal attorney or prosecuting attorney, and Mayor. End of story.

I'd do a Facebook posting naming names and with pictures. I imagine the bead mansion would come crumbling down along with the future prospects of a few local cops.

A sad story. Some people obviously don't believe there will be a judgement day.

I was working on a roadsign installation contract once when I found a bank bag, like businesses use to carry their deposits to the bank. It had no cash in it, but it was bulging with checks, all made out to a clothing store in a nearby town. We were just knocking off for lunch, and I thought I'd be a nice guy and return the bag and contents back to the store. The cashier/owner went nuts and started accusing me of being the person who robbed their store a few days previous. She set off some kind of alarm, and the cops were sliding in sideways in just a couple minutes. I told my story to the chief of police, told him I had a whole crew of witnesses that saw me find the bag, and he believed me and let me go. The owner never did let up, and I could hear her screaming at the cops as I got in my truck to leave. After they moved their cars so I could back away, I told them that it was the last time I'd ever try to be a nice guy in that situation again. Over the years, I returned lots of purses, cellphones, pagers, briefcases, tennis shoes, and even a bible, (bumper and cartop sliders) but after the clothing store fiasco I was always leery of being accused of stealing the found item.

Paul

WHAT make and model of tractor was she driving when she knocked over the bead store????

(quoted from post at 23:03:36 10/03/11) WHAT make and model of tractor was she driving when she knocked over the bead store????

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It was an ID 10 T......... You shouldn't post until your meds kick in right......

(quoted from post at 03:36:56 10/04/11)

(quoted from post at 23:03:36 10/03/11) WHAT make and model of tractor was she driving when she knocked over the bead store????

Click to expand...

It was an ID 10 T......... You shouldn't post until your meds kick in right......

Click to expand...

Man,,,you're on a roll today.