200 break-ins: Teens arrested in larcenies from cars
Police say Christopher Ballard, Kristie Ryder, and an unidentified 17-year-old broke into more than 200 cars.PHOTO ALBEMARLE POLICE
For weeks, people around the county have awakened to find their cars have been broken into. But on January 23, a complaint that people were going through cars in the Old Trail neighborhood led to the arrest of three teens who police say have broken into more than 200 vehicles.
Christopher Ballard, 18, is charged with five counts of grand larceny; Kristie Ryder, 19, is charged with two counts of grand larceny, and an unidentified 17-year-old faces eight counts of grand larceny, which is a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison.
The rash of car break-in reports has been coming in since November, says Albemarle police Sergeant Darrell Byers. Most recently, seven vehicles in Mill Creek were reported hit January 16, over 20 off East Rio on January 17, and more than 20 reported on January 20 in the Georgetown Green and Pantops areas. Most of the vehicles were unlocked, says an investigator.
Police were already looking for the alleged perps January 23 when the call came in from Old Trail in Crozet. The suspects "attempted to leave the area at a high rate of speed," says Byers.
The alleged getaway vehicle, a Honda Pilot, was stopped on Interstate 64. The first clue that the occupants may have been involved in the thefts was the number of GPS devices spotted inside the car. Police found thousands of dollars worth of purloined property, including golf clubs, a handgun, and small electronics, says Byers.
The arrests turned up swords and antique guns.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE
From the suspects' homes, investigators have recovered antique guns and samurai swords that were reported missing from a burglary. On a table at Albemarle police headquarters, more around 99 items were laid out, including cameras, sunglasses, flashlights, laptops, cellphones, and a wallet full of $20s. Police estimate the value of the recovered merch at roughly $18,000.
Last May, Ballard was arrested for breaking and entering, a felony, and convicted of a misdemeanor charge of entering property with intent to damage. According to court records, he was sentenced in June to 12 months in jail, with 10 suspended.
Ballard and Ryder are scheduled to appear in court March 3. Police say the investigation continues, and more charges are possible. Anyone with information about these incidents or who is a victim of a car break-in should contact Detective Belew at 434-296-5807.
Updated 5:15pm with the revised police number of more than 200 car break-ins.
Updated 9:45am January 25 with police contact info.
124 comments
Why was my comment deleted? All I stated were facts. These 2 look like they have just crawled out of dumpsters following a 2 week crystal meth binge. And it's disgusting. Dispose of them promptly.
you dont know any thing about what happened.. but im done i said what i had 2 say
the ppl talkin bs on the 17 year old need to grow up.. you dont know the person what so ever... smh.. same on you tisk tisk on you. and get a life. smh
Like that young Master Ballard got to serve only 2 months. The pattern of American justice is shown by the cavalier way the courts deal with property crimes and non lethal (most of the time) crimes against persons, as opposed to their draconian reaction to crimes against the state. Now if he'd downloaded some anonymous kiddy porn pix from some file sharing website, they'd make sure he didn't see freedom for a long time. Or if he'd been some young black from the "jects" selling some crack, well then off you go to the oubliettes.
Stick a knife in someone's belly and the victim pulls through thanks to UVA's trauma team, well plead it down to felonious assault from attempted murder, take a month or two in jail and "welcome home bro".
What's kind of fascinating, as an observation, is that those posting in defense of the alleged criminals seem to actually believe their tawdry tirades are beneficial to the accused. Although, I must agree with one assertion they have made frequently in that many, if not all, posting about the accused probably do not know them. I certainly do not, nor will the judge, jury and commonwealth's attorney, but that will neither stop them from trying the case nor imposing a sentence.
Ha Ha Ha! You **Adults** trashing the kids for their writing skills. **Priceless**
@True Friend-- I don't get the point of your post. The topic of this article above isn't "Nice People I've Known." The topic is about a pair of kids who committed many MANY crimes.
You do comprehend that it's pretty extraordinary to commit that many crimes, right? Can you also understand that at some point, folks don't really care whether the criminals are "nice" or not? Folks just want their shizz back, yo, and they'll pretty much do what it takes to put these two behind bars so they can't steal even more of OTHER PEOPLE'S STUFF. See, it really doesn't matter one bit to anyone that the kid has "tooken" your side on things. Because that doesn't change the fact that he and girl did a really bad thing to a couple hundred innocent people. Do you get it now?
Yes, "texting speak" is the new English to the up and comers. These kids don't know how to actually construct a real sentence anymore.
@ Restore the Republic - I don't think the defenders are going to understand a word you said, seeing as how you used all those high fallutin' words that are actually fully spelled out, with all that fancy sentence structure goin' on. I think you lost them. ;D
These jokers stole a portable DVD player from my car that my 3 year old watches on long trips. I'm glad I didn't catch them stealing it because I believe in vigilante justice.
Did they break into houses or just cars, I wonder? The guns mentioned were said to have come from a "burglary."
These kids are lucky to be alive. Period.
makes you wonder why there were swords and antique guns in someones car.
ummmm i grew up with the 17 year old and is the closest thing i ever had to a sibling... dont think you know someone by just reading stuff so dont talk like you know cuz you dont!!... the 17 year old would give you the shirt off his back no matter who you where!!!! and im tired of every one making it out to be like the 17 year old is a bad person!!! things happen when your a kid ppl learn!! havnt you ever made a mistake!.. idk what any of you ppl say you will never know the kind loveing great person that i have known my whole life! oh yea and the 17 year old has great parents better than alot of kids could wish 4!!!
MRS T. - I think we are underserved due to the laxidasical and soft-hearted manner in which our judicial system conducts itself. When the police arrest people and the charges are applied, they end up with a sense that they have waisted their time when the Judge says, "I'm sentencing you to 1 year in jail and I'm going to suspend the entire term, just so long as you can promise me that you'll be a good boy from now on." If it were once it wouldn't make much of a difference, but it happens consistantly.
I know the "17 year old" real well , and i know that he is a great and wonderful person. He would literally give you the shirt off his back , do anything for his friends and family. Sometimes people hang with the wrong crowds , and do stupid things. Thats exactly what happend to him. So people stop being judgmental. Its not fair. You people do not know the "17 year old" like I do , and if you did know him you would say the same thing Im saying right now. He has always been there for me , and has tooken my side on things. So i am going to do the same. I don't care who likes it and who doesn't. Thats really all I have to say. I love you man!
I think "Love" is real but "supportin17yold" is a blatant funny troll, way too much carefully spelled out ebonics.
To the Investigator Mark Belew- for the lost GPS, just power them up and hit "home"- those GPS might find their own way back to their owners
@boooo! - "Well, these types are breeding. What kind of kinds do we think they’re producing? Hard working, shining beacons of class, ethics and intellectual prowness?" - LOL!! No, don't think so! I can agree with you on that! However, when bad parenting is involved and it can be proven, then let's put some on the parent. But I do believe that some children are just bound to do things their way regardless of their upbringing or mom and dad's parenting prowess - ie: "you kinda do have to put fault on the parents when one of the kids is 17, still a legal minor" - this one is past the point of the parents "controlling" them, less putting the kid in a straight jacket and locking them in a padded room which would then be viewed as child abuse (shruggs). So what's one to do with a young person that has gone off track?
Each charge needs to be proven in court, unless people don't have a problem with the police ascribing each and every break-in in the county to these two alleged perpetrators. I assure you the police would love to get all those crimes off their sheets.
If the prosecutors spend all their time with one or two perpetrators, that's time not spent on other perpetrators. Although the police may believe and say that these two are responsible for 200 break ins, it behooves everyone to prosecute them for those crimes that are easily proven.
If they can get 20 years in prison total for these young adults, I think people's precious DVD players and iPod adapters will be safe for the duration.
boooo! - Disagree with you on this completely. I have four siblings, one brother, two sisters. First four (myself included) turned out to be law abiding, hard working citizens....my youngest sibiling (however) is a meth addict, ex-dealer, and other crimes that she has committed in the last 10 years. Nothing to do with bad parenting here. SHE made the wrong decisions. My parents armed her with everything from the knowledge of right and wrong to a complete boat ride for education beyond high school which she promptly flunked out of both the private college then the local community college. She was doing drugs LONG before she reached the age of 18. HER choice, not my parents. The rest of us managed to stay pretty much drug free for our teen years and beyond. So good parenting can only do so much with a child if the child is set to self distruct on their own, by their own doing.
Ralf, you kinda do have to put fault on the parents when one of the kids is 17, still a legal minor. I know people nowadays like to abdicate responsibility but there really is something to be said about good parenting. Kids who come from good parenting don't wind up facing multiple grand larceny charges by the time they're 17, 18, 19 years old. Bottom line.
It's become politically incorrect to look at the parents when kids turn out like crap, but so be it. It *absolutely* falls back on the parents when kids turn out like c r a p. (Hook censorship alert!) (And this is coming from somebody whose brother and teenage half sister both have turned out as c r a p, with major issues. Both had bad "parenting," if you even want to call it that.) You blame the kids AND the parents.
Mrs T, cop shoppes have for the past two or three decades taken so many cops out of patrol and placed them in so many specialized units, there's very few left to work in the patrol sector. Ask any patrol cop, they will tell you the same thing. Most of these specialized units are what the cops call "gravy train" jobs. There's a long list of cops just waiting to be accepted into one of them because most of them involve daylight hours and weekends off.
This is why when you read a story like this, it's always about a citizen who has spotted the criminals and solved the case for the cop shoppes.
it isnt the parents fault AJ. dont blame anyone but the kids
man chris chris take a bath
funniest thing is they were using Mom's Honda Pilot as a getaway car! did it have a "baby on board" decal too?
@Joyce
Well, something went wrong with your youngest sib. The fact that it was the youngest is pretty telling. That's a pattern I keep seeing - the oldest siblings turn out okay, but the youngest one is the problem. It's usually because the parents did something different with them, were more leniant, gave them more, and babied them more. The oldest ones were the first kids in the bunch and as such had the stricter upbringing as the parents were experimentating with "how to parent." By the time they get to the last of the bunch (to paraphrase a comedian, can't remember who said this) "they pretty much let them juggle knives." ;D
There's also other factors at play when it comes to an individual child's mental capacity and development, and many times it's something beyond the parents, no doubt. So I'm not saying it's always, 100% the parents fault too. I know it always isn't......but in many cases it is. And there can be no question about this. We've all seen the type of screwball "adults" that are out there in the world. Adults that are drug and alcohol addled, can't hold down a job, can barely string together a coherant sentence, total ignoramouses in every way. Well, these types are breeding. What kind of kinds do we think they're producing? Hard working, shining beacons of class, ethics and intellectual prowness?
Whats up with these children? Who raised them? What happened during their upbringing? I just wonder.
City council has been publicly humiliated several times recently, but that hasn't done anything to stop them has it? It may still be worth a try for these kids though. They probably don't have anyone behind the scenes telling them what to do.
If we wait until the new sundial gets installed, we can chain the whole bunch (City Council included) to that. I think fresh vegetable would be better to throw. They would have a bit more impact, and they could be collected afterwards to feed the growing homeless population downtown.
4real erbody needs 2 shut the hell up cuz nun of yall know da 17 yr.....he is a great person..yea he did sum stupid..bt havnt yall done anything dumb..havnt yall made a mistake....i bet about 80 or 90 percent of yall hav gotten arrested once in your life....i bet all of yall hav done sumthin illegal..so dnt judge anybody cuz ur no betta....n since i kno nun of yall kno the 17 yr old yall deff need 2 stop bein judgemental cuz i lived wit him ..ive known him 4 a long time..i love him 2 death....hes been there wit me thru thick n thin.....he is my bestfriend..he is my life..so dnt b judgmental wen all of yall r guilty of things to..n 4 all of yall parents on here ....yall need 2 check ur kids cuz dis aint da 70 or 80s anymore....cuz i kno 99% of ur kids r doin dumb things jus like these kids did..so stop bein judgemental n go raise ya kids n go 2 work insted of bein bored wit ur life n judgin otha ppl ova da internet plz
@joyce: "So good parenting can only do so much with a child if the child is set to self distruct on their own, by their own doing."
I'm glad you are not my parent.
I am willing to bet that the kids above with the poor grammar and spelling have high school diplomas. They are pretty good examples of what the public school system is pumping out now.
I think the commentary from the "supporters" and "friends" of these youth says it all. Looks like their friends are just as useless and incompetent as the criminals. Sad.
I went to school with all these kids, and know them well. I just wish they would have CARED enough about their future to avert their negative energy into something more productive. I've come to a realization that "Gettin' Guap" ain't the most important thing in this world, (for me). One thing I've learned is, "car shopping" can leave you with a bill you REALLY don't want to pay..SO DON'T DO IT! If you think you're big Mr. Badass and like to rob people, at least rob other criminals, not people that you don't even know.
Other than the poor grammar the consistent comments by @love &17 were that 'you don't know him like I do', and he made a mistake, no big deal.
To the first point I say whew, glad I don't and to the second point it appears as though he didn't make a few mistakes, he made 200. There's a difference.
Which of our lovely schools did these 3 attend?
Lighten up folks, "tooken" is the past plural tense of the verb to toke. It isn't used "properly," but y'all know what was meant.
To demonstrate its correct use: Love, Sparky, and SUPPORTIN17yrold fell up in my crib totin' some hittin' and holdin' weefa. We tooken dat jonszun den Sparky runned off wit Chris and Kris for a lil window shoppin' if ya no wha'msayin'......
@ bluto - Thanks, but you must be the only one in the world who thinks anyone needs an education about the world ââ?¬Å?tooken”?
It's about as obvious as the sun rising and tells more than warming rays.
You really are at at loss....
Does your Mom know you are online and using her computer?
@Restore-- I do believe that Bluto is being facetious.
Re Love and Supportin17, I always find the posts from friends and family defending their pet criminals to be surreal and occasionally hilarious. The comments posted on various news sites and blogs after the infamouse Shifflett brothers' crime spree and Rte 20 south eluding a few years back were classics. My favorite was when someone posted the inevitable "He'd give you the shirt right off his back" and it was pointed out that Mr Shifflett had stolen clothing in at least one of his burglaries.
One has to wonder if Ballard and Ryder were handing out loot to their friends like it was party favors.
Has anyone considered the potential for some good old public humiliation?!!? - Personally, I think these two would look grand, on the downtown mall in the stocks!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stocks) perhaps we could also raise some money out of their punishment; by charging a dollar to throw rotten tomatoes, or eggs at them as they kneel there chained up, like the petty foolish criminals that they are!
No, quite right. Out of interest, what would you suggest is the best approach to punishing these two for their actions?
Perhaps removal of their right hand, so for ever more they would be marked as the thieving toe-rags that they are; they could then look down and remember day-to-day that there is a consequence to their actions.
Perhaps, what they need is a soft touch community service order, where they can go and help old people, with their yard work; with the hope that they don't choose to rob them, too!!?
Send 'em to Singapore.
Deleted by moderator.
@cookieJar - Whatever the issue with the council employees is, it does not excuse the actions of these two people. Nor should it be entered into this discussion.
Who was excusing anything? You suggested public humiliation might have a positive effect on the behavior of the humiliated. I offered a concrete example to demonstrate that things don't necessarily work that way.
I would punish them to work at a fast food restaurant until they were able to pay back, with interest as it accumulates, an amount to each victim equivalent to what was taken. That is for recovered and returned items. For items that aren't returned to their owners, twice replacement cost.
Any menial entry level job could be substituted as long as there was an agreement that there would be no advancement or increase in salary until the sentence was served. That way we get job training, useful work, punishment, and restitution.
If they fail to follow through, then they get sent to jail for their full sentences.
I don't see much more than fast food restaurants in their future anyway. So that's not really a punishment. :)
Thanks a lot ya'll.
@joyce: Still glad you are not my parent.
Deleted by moderator.
funniest thing is they were using Moms/ Honda Pilot as a getaway car! did it have a "baby on board" decal too?
They need to lock these losers up. If it had only happend a few times it could be viewed as a mistake. They are accused of way more than that, seems they have decided what type of life they want. A life of crime, they need to realize they made bad choices & there is punishment for that. To a lot of kids these days it is unthinkable to get a part time job & save up for what you want. I guess it's easier to just take it from someone else, probably from someone that worked to get those things.
Not a victim. A cop!
way*
A "Badge Bunny". I thought so...
and to joyce.... you act like the person is a monster.. the wat you talking ppl might mistake you for 1.. a stray jacket?? rele?? wow tisk tisk on u!
No. I am not a police officer!
Perhaps the 17 year old is smart. He was doing an internship with the other two in case he couldn't get into college after finishing high school.
I had over $1500 worth of things stolen from my garage and the police didn't even bother to come to the house, they just took a report over the phone. Either our police are understaffed or lazy. Does anyone know? Are we understaffed due to budgets or under served due to sloth?
100 crimes and only 20 counts charged? Is the Albemarle County Commonwealths Attorney now giving out volume discounts? Or will more ges be forthcoming? I'd prefer to see each of them charged to the fullest extent, overkill notwithstanding. When they're facing a few hundred years each they'll probably be more inclined to plead to 10 or 20 years and save the taxpayers the cost of a trial. Plus the 80 victims who's loss isn't worth the County's time will feel like they had their day in court as well.
Some posters on this thread are ready and willing to indict the public school system for the crime spree of three young people. Using that logic, I suppose we could blame the mortgage and financial crises on the public schools too. Maybe we could even argue that the crass politicians who allowed Wall Street to morph into a taxpayer-subsidized casino were failed by ”the system.”
But we know what caused the mortgage crisis and the ensuing fiscal debacle, and it wasn’t the public schools (even if the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce prefer to divert blame from themselves and assign ââ?¬Å?competitiveness problems” to public education). The causes were rampant deregulation, greed, and corporate incompetence, all enabled by a distorted, discredited economic ideology. It was looting on a massive scale, yet those responsible deny culpability.
Regarding the case at hand, my guess is that the three teens accused of the multiple grand larcenies didn’t take their education seriously and were not particularly good students. I’d hazard a guess also that parenting, or lack thereof, had some role to play (a facebook posting by a parent saying ââ?¬Å?if u do not know the real facts do not judge no one it could happen to you” might be a clue).
We know the accused were caught with ââ?¬Å?thousands of dollars worth of purloined property, including golf clubs, a handgun, and small electronics.” And, as reported, sword and guns and cash and ââ?¬Å?cameras, sunglasses, flashlights, laptops, cellphones” were taken from their homes by police. Who did the stealing and who aided and abetted is yet unclear. All of the accused deserve a fair trial. Suppose they are convicted.
The cost to keep someone in a Virginia prison, if that’s where some of the accused eventually go, is around $25,000 a year (not to mention costs that precede that). And in Virginia, about a third of those who are released from prison are back within three years. An important question, then, is how do we reshape the perceptions and skills of those who are incarcerated, because the simple fact is that most of those who go into prison are at some point coming back out.
What do we want them to be like?
Hey, ****, They only got busted yesterday. Give the prosecutors a little time to prepare some more charges. I'm pretty impressed that they already face 20.
This Ballard kid must have an extremely short learning curve. Looks like his goal is to be a career criminal. No more probably. Lock him up and keep he and his thug buddies away from those of us who choose to work for a living.
Twenty charges is plenty. They could get 400 years from those 20 alone. It's kind of unnecessary to throw more on them.
*kids, not kinds
@ cvllelaw
I certainly don't know law but the article says "UP TO 20 years in prison". How many times has a judge in this area given someone the maximum sentence, especially given the suspects ages? Does the judge have the choice of having them serve the sentences (assuming they're found guilty) consecutively or concurrently? Judges around here have let child abusers and child porn jerks off easy with just a couple of years. These people will probably get "time served" or probation or some such junk.
I forgot to make my point...duh. These kids obviously had/have no regard for the property of others so I say throw everything you can at them because the judge is most likely not going to sentence them the way they deserve to be sentenced. If someone stole something once or twice I would say they might be able to be "saved". These kids have stolen how many times? I say they are leeches of society so throw it at them as hard as you can !
GSOE: According to the Daily Progress this morning, the police had the suspects under surveillance when they were busted.
Exactly "love" ..these ppl dnt kno nun bout da 17yr old...so they need 2 chill..n worry bout there own life n the things they hav done..they need 2 go bak 2 da memmory book n reminse about all da dumb things they hav done in there life time and realize kids r kids..they do stupid things ..bt dats how erbody learns...bcuz the dumb pitty things makes them a betta,smarter,n stronger person es u start 2 mature
you tell um supportin17yrold... we the only ones that know the person.. shame on the grown folks for talk bs on kids.. tisk tisk smh
Deleted by moderator.
Who do we call at the county to see if this was the piece of garbage who broke into our car and stole my wife's ipod and left it in shambles? I'm sure that they left their prints all over our car. I'm willing to press charges.
My car was broken in to about two weeks ago. Whoever did it was obviously in a hurry as they threw almost everything in my glove box and storage between the seats all over the place. They stole my IPod adapter, but obviously weren't interested in my music as they left the CD's. They were also kind enough to leave my extendable ice scraper and umbrella. It really infuriates me that I work for a living in order to buy the things I want and others feel entitled to just take things that belong to others. I hope they have many more charges against them!!!
Is Ballard to be held in custody until March 3 or released?
I have actually heard people who have done this sort of thing justify it by saying, 'well, they have insurance. Never mind deductibles, and the fact that a lot of people don't have comprehensive to cover the damage and theft anyway.
Plus, what happened to the fact that it's just WRONG???
I would not be surprised if this same group was responsible for the break-ins that occurred last year as well in Mill Creek. I think it was the spring/summer time.
@Gasbag - point well taken on the breaking the window. Guess those people living in the 60's need to wake up...or be robbed.
I hope that is true, U-Hoo. I would hate to think they were just going to sit around forever and take reports by phone every time a car was broken into.
I wonder if any of this stuff ended up on eBaY. The "sellers" aren't going to have the merchandise to ship at auction's end now that the cop shoppe has it all! :)
I hate to be the "buzz killer", but we had 2 young guys in our neighborhood last winter take 5 cars from our street for a joy ride over a 2 hr time period and crashed them all into snowbanks. (All were unlocked, all left the keys in the car and one left a handgun under the front seat).... They are now both in the Middle River Jail awaiting sentencing. (But I look at it as its kind of like leaving a box of matches on your coffee table and hoping your 3 year old won't pick them up)... Facts show, if you lock your vehicles and don't leave anything of value in them, usually you don't have any problems. I say this because state and local offices have had their services severly slashed due to state budget demands and the manpower and moral is down. I would much rather see that time spent by our law enforcement offices and court system investigating and prosecuting serious cases such as murders, rapes and kidnappings than trying to get justice for something that is really our responsibility. You cannot change a criminals mind, but you can make sure you take action to not make yourself a victim of their stupidity.
Valley Tater - I don't think you're a "buzz killer" at all...just a voice of reason. Why would anyone in this day and age leave their car unlocked, keys in it and full of valuables? Taking a little responsibility for yourself could go a long way.
People should be angry about what these youths did. But why shouldn't they after all? We let Wall Street rob not only investors, but people working on main street, and then let them keep their bonuses.
Start having perp walks for all the banksters who destroyed Wall Street, and you might see this sort of behaviour dwindling a bit. These days, I feel stupid for living an hoest life, returning goods I find on the street, that sort of thing.
Joyce, a lot of people would rather have a kid simply open the car door and enter their car, rather than breaking the window to do so. And another large group of residents still think they are living in safe communities in 1960, where you didn't have to lock your doors in cars or even your home.
Deleted by moderator.
Charge the parents as well for what the children did specially the 17 year old.
supportin17yrod, Ahhhh the impertinence of youth!
Yes, I've done illegal things. But I've never broken into 200 cars. I've also never been arrested. I've always been of the opinion that you'd have be pretty dumb to get arrested, frankly. Getting convicted of a crime? "Dumb" doesn't begin to describe....
As for the assertion that %80-%90 of us have been arrested and that %99 of our kids are doing things like this.... ummmm..... I think you need to find some new friends.
It's not the 70s or 80s anymore, it's true. Back then, crime was much, much worse and perpetrators were punished much less severely than today.
The 17 year old won't be punished as severely as the other two, you should be thankful for that.
But, seriously, get some new friends. You sound like you're hanging around with some real losers.
your right!!.. live and learn... the 17 year old will turn out to be a better person than a lot of ppl in life.. have respect for there family there going thro a hard time!.. talk bout the 17 year old other ppl aint no better.. but idk what they think keep your nose in the air.. that just means u needed better raisings!
my friends r amazin...dis is 2011....erbody is doin erthing....crime is extremely bad...the government jus hides it....and the 17 yr old shuldnt get n alot of trouble cuz he is 2 gud of a person....so erbody needs 2 stop actin like there s**t doesnt stink n stop bin judgemental n talkin s**t bout my bestfriend yo....straight up...im gettin tired of erbody poppin off actin like they know these kids....grow da hell up n go do sum wit ya family..insted of bein judgemental pray 4 dese kids n learn from them so it helps u n da future ...so u dnt let ur kids make these mistakes....uuhhhh...so damn judgemental
rele??? have some respect! you talk like you know the ppl you rele dont and you can have the perfect little group of friends that dont mean something bad wont happen like forreal!!! think about what your saying... mabey you need 2 step into the real world.. im done with this iv said what i had to say.. say what you want.. ppl make mistakes live with it... and yea we r thinkful but still the news dosent tell the whole story just remember that... ppl live and learn.. yaw rele need to get over your self.. and dont talk about ppl you dont even know.. thats just a shame in its self.. what a shame.
judgin somebody ***
these**
Deleted by moderator.
If the 17 year old writes like his friends do, then he is likely to be too s t o o o o o p i d to have a real job and will be back to the life of crime in no time.
grow up and stop talking bout a 17 year old like for real.. you dont know nothing about him so shut your mouth. he is a straight A student and the most caring person ik.. all yaw ppl r childish
Ok. Everybody commenting is commenting because they're insecure, except for the two children who cannot spell nor use correct grammar.
Show self respect and you will gain others' respect.
I don't know this 17 year old, it's true. And it's also true that he/she made a mistake. Yes, he/she can learn from it.
But part of the consequences of committing these acts is to be judged by society. If you or your friend can't deal with that, they shouldn't have committed these acts.
I know I'm not the only one concerned and disturbed by the posts from "love" and "supporting17yrold." Has our education system completely failed these kids? You need to have parents and others who see the problems and ask for help where needed.
dont you put me in any thing "lennie" i dont know who you are and you dont know me. grow up for real. goodbye
Deleted by moderator.
"Tooken"
Some of these comment threads here over time have needed nothing more than a cursory glance, but this one has nuggets of humor embedded. I trust more wisdom is forthcoming from the friends of the accused?
Her facebook page also says tattoos.
And an additional interest -- nursing. I doubt she will go far in that profession after being accused of stealing from 200+ families already.
Gasbag does not "Like"...
The system didn't fail these kids.
These kids failed the system.
One car is a mistake. 5 cars is a bad mistake. 200 cars is an unforgivable and unredeemable offense. Lock em up for 5 years and make them agree to never return to the county.
If their friends are so loyal they can go with them.
5 years? I say 200 divided by 10.......
Deleted by moderator.
Moderator. Please delete the last post by Public Humiliation. It is absolutely wrong to post the parents names on this thread. They were not accused of a crime and probably have enough on their plates right now without having to deal with heartless posts like that from PH.
I agree with Mike.
@Democracy - "And in Virginia, about a third of those who are released from prison are back within three years." - Wow, I thought it would be a higher percentage...but yeah it's only three years. It will take that long for their next crime to go to trial.
"The cost to keep someone in a Virginia prison, if that’s where some of the accused eventually go, is around $25,000 a year (not to mention costs that precede that). .......An important question, then, is how do we reshape the perceptions and skills of those who are incarcerated, because the simple fact is that most of those who go into prison are at some point coming back out.
What do we want them to be like?" - Thank you for making me think. Sometimes we are all quick to judge and dole out our own ideas of what punishment a person should get, but in the long run we the taxpayers are the ones that pay for this punishment. Now wouldn't it be better to truly rehibilitate instead of just punishing both in and after they are released? Please don't take this as a defense of any accused or convicted, just as food for thought. ie: Don't you want to break the cycle?
Perhaps if the parent had a better relationship, or control for that matter, they would not have to suffer the results of this situation. I am sure that they do have a great deal on their plates. Like wondering why their son went off in the family car, night after night to smash into other people's property and steal things that did not belong to him!!!
Deleted by moderator.
@Wait: Why do you want to know where the boy lives?
@ Joyce...thanks.
I think we DO know, in general, how to break the cycle. But there simply is no free lunch, and the measures it takes to prevent crime and to rehabilitate (many prisons systems are referred to as "correctional" systems) those ho are incarcerated do cost money.
To my way of thinking, it's analogous to car maintenance or health. In the shorter-term you have to pay for tire rotations (and tires), and oil changes and tune-ups, or you have to see a dentist every 6 months, or get an annual or biannual physical screening (for which some of us have insurance). But you either pay in the short term or the longer term, and the long-term payout is usually costlier.
Politicians of a certain stripe are the ones who tell us that we can have something for nothing (not true). They are the ones who push "mandatory minimums" and "three strikes-and-you're out" laws, and the abolition of parole, and tougher drug laws, and "let's make them hate prison" policies.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like crime any better than anyone else. I've had things stolen from me, and I didn't like it. I think people should work for the things they want and need, and I believe education is important not only for individual success but also that it's critical to the well-being of a democratic society.
I also know that crime has existed as long as societies have. The Code of Hammurabi (1800 or so BCE), for example, had multiple laws against theft. And even though the death penalty was a frequently-occurring punishment in that era, Herodotus reported that a Nubian pharaoh, Sabacos, rarely used it on lawbreakers, preferring instead to "appointing them to work."
Here's an interesting take on the American prison system from The Economist (in 2002):
http://www.economist.com/node/1270709
The United States imprisons more people than any other nation in the world. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics, prisons cost nearly $70 billion in 2006.
It seems to me we could get a better return on that expenditure.
Deleted by moderator.
Deleted by moderator.
What would be an appropriate punishment for the use of loose in place of lose? Perhaps a small notch taken out of the offending typing finger?
Oh, no!! - The school system failed me, I must convert to a life of crime! Whatever @cookieJar.
PH - sorry I missed the deleted comments, I am sure I would have been entertained. But from the ones I do see here, sounds like you might have been one of the victims, thus your anger is probably warranted.
@Joyce - No, I was actually not one of the victims, but I have encountered this type of crime many many times. If there is a deprived socioeconomic environment in the equation, then perhaps there is some degree of excuse. But MMM - kids from nice family suburbs, mmm NO!! If these kids were from Friendship Court, then I would have no less disregard for their characters, but I would at least have an understanding of what could have been their motivation. However, as it stands”Šmy belief is that this is a basic case of greed and sloth!! Which in many respects makes it worse.
My point exactly.
@Ah Ha - sorry I'm not familiar with that term! Could you provide a definition, or is that beyond you?!
Deleted by moderator.
Interesting discussion. Let's see if I can explain this for Mr/Mrs/Miss Ah Ha without getting moderated.
A "badge bunny" or "fender lizard" are girls who are fixated and obsessed with any cop shoppe employee in uniform. They want to be near them, they want to be seen near them, and they want to sleep with them. I've never seen a shortage of badge bunnies or fender lizards in this area, they seem to come out of the woodwork. And I feel they are one of the main reasons the divorce rate is so high among cop shoppe employees. Sooner or later, every wife of a cop shoppe employee catches them with a badge bunny or a fender lizard, or learns of their various affairs with badge bunnies and fender lizards.
As the local county cop shoppe has taught us recently, some badge bunnies or fender lizards actually have a cop shoppe uniform themselves! :)
@Public Etc... Defining "Badge Bunnies" is not "beyond me". But, I defer to Gasbag's expertise....
There's also what is called a "Citation Queen". This is when a cop stops a girl, issues her a traffic citation, then excuses himself for a minute while he lays his citation book in the cop shoppe mobile. He walks back to the girl's car and then asks her out on a date.
I recall one such case in the county cop shoppe. The girl actually ended up marrying the cop later. Can you imagine marrying the person who wrote you a traffic ticket as opposed to letting you off with a warning? Weird stuff I tell ya!!
Sniffer
Thank you all for the clarification on the term "badge bunny". I am not a yearning for attention from law enforcement officers, if I were, I would certainly not choose this forum to express interest. This subject is totally off topic. This story is also quite old now. I will reiterate my point once again, in simple terms for you simple folk and leave it at that. - These people deserved to be arrested and also deserve to be punished for the crimes that they have done!
hj
Joyce, this time YOU are judge and jury! I didn't have to wait long for YOUR next case! :)