This morning, I’m not cutting down the Chicago SunTimes, as I have in the past. No, today it is a story I read in the Times, which makes me question our “justice system”. A 47 year old woman from Aurora, Kimberly Flores, was arrested and tried for credit card fraud, costing her $11,000.00 in legal fees, after spending 18 aggravating months fighting.
Flores made a purchase at a Walgreens, handed her credit card over, after a minute was told the scanner was down, so she wrote a check. A few weeks later, Flores received a note asking her to go to the Aurora police department. When she did, she was read her rights and asked to confess to using a stolen credit card, in several transactions, amounting to (a whopping) $240.00.
Flores had been identified by the Walgreens cashier as the same woman, who weeks earlier had purchased 2 cartons of cigarettes with the stolen card. Flores did not confess, she did not use a stolen credit card to purchase cigarettes, or anything else. (Never even smoked a day in her life). She would not confess to something she did not do.
A warrent for her arrest was issued a couple of months later!
Her attorney argued it didn’t even make sense that a woman who was head of security at her company, handling thousands of dollars, has a home and 2 cars completely paid for, and the worst offense on her record is a speeding ticket, why would she steal and use a strangers credit card? Yet police claimed they had a rock-solid case, a credible witness, and enough evidence to put her in jail for 2 years.
Months passed, the state’s attorneys office offered her a plea bargin to reduce the charges to a misdemeanor. Flores stood by her claim of innocence and refused, preferring to take her chances with a jury.
When it came to trial, the state’s star witness, the Walgreens cashier, was asked to identify the person who used the stolen credit card. She pointed to a spectator. (DUH!)
The jury returned a “not guilty” verdict. Hhhmmm, how much did this fiasco cost tax payers?
Wouldn’t it be great if all these gung-ho legal/justice system ding-dongs would focus this much attention on all the gang bangers that seem to be shooting innocent people every day?
July 6, 2008 at 9:55 am |
That is seriously horrible! I want to say something like, “I can’t believe that happened!!” But.. this is the U.S. and I definitely can.. unfortunately.