Private security company Portland Patrol Inc. reported an unnamed homeless woman as well as a co-defendant who was committing the same “crime,” to the Portland Police Department in July.
Two officers followed up on the report and issued the two citations, according to which the defendants had to appear in court for the charge of third-degree theft — a class C misdemeanor.
“Jackie,” the pseudonym Street Roots News gave the homeless woman who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy, said she didn’t understand why four law enforcement officials agreed that her actions warranted charges and a court summons. Especially since Jackie has never committed a single crime in her life.
“It’s just my sense of right and wrong, and it just feels so damn wrong,” says Jackie. “The amount of time and money and wasted resources with the judge, the lawyers, the clerks, the police and on and on.”
Jackie’s attorney, Metropolitan Public Defender Stacy Du Clos, told Street Roots that Jackie’s main concern was that her potential conviction could hurt her chances of getting affordable public housing, for which she is on several waiting lists.
Public defender Jane Fox told Street Roots that she has seen many similar cases to Jackie's.
“It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it’s just insane,” says Fox. “The (case) that I had was somebody charging their phone by the Greyhound bus station. Don’t you have a reasonable expectation that an outlet near the bus station would be OK?”
Jackie missed her first arraignment and was issued a bench warrant. She turned herself in a couple months later, at which time she was booked into jail, and then released a day later.
The community court which dealt with Jackie’s case was willing to let the charges be reduced, but with the caveat of her having to plead guilty. She would have only had to complete a community service requirement.
But because Jackie did not feel she’s done anything wrong, she did not want to plead guilty, Street Roots reported. While she did not want to have to pay the rather high fine, or jeopardize the possibility of getting housing, she wanted to fight because of her sense of right and wrong.
In a lucky turn of events, the district attorney dropped the charges a day before Jackie was scheduled to appear in court.
Her co-defendant’s case still is pending after he failed to appear in court.
Forbes estimated in 2013 that costs about 12 cents a year to charge a cell phone. Street Roots put that figure a bit higher, at 25 cents.
