Girl buys water, spends night in jail

[Nightfyre]

I found this story interesting/entertaining.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...181104442.html

Felony charges were dropped on Thursday against a 20-year-old University of Virginia student who says she panicked when undercover agents from the state's Alcohol Beverage Control division mistook her water purchase for beer.

According to Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress, the student, Elizabeth Daly, was walking to her car on April 11 at approximately 10:15 p.m. with a box of sparkling water, cookie dough and ice cream she had just bought from a local supermarket when the agents—six men and one woman, all in plainclothes—approached suspecting the box, a blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water, to be a 12-pack of beer. One jumped on the hood of her SUV; another pulled out a gun, Daly said, as her roommates seated inside looked on in horror.

"They were showing unidentifiable badges after they approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to a uniform," Daly wrote in an account submitted to the court. "I couldn't put my windows down unless I started my car, and when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the car. They began trying to break the windows. My roommates and I were ... terrified."

Daly's roommate in the front passenger seat told her to "go, go, go"—and that's what she did, apparently "grazing" two of the agents in the process.

The students called 911 as they left the parking lot, police said, and were pulled over by another agent driving a vehicle with lights and sirens, Charlottesville Commonwealth Attorney Dave Chapman told the paper.

Daly apologized when she realized who they were, Chapman said, but agents arrested Daly and charged her with two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer and one count of eluding police—each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $2,500 in fines. She spent the night in Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

"This has been an extremely trying experience," Daly wrote. "It is something to this day I cannot understand or believe has come to this point."

Either can Chapman.

"It wouldn't be the right thing to do to prosecute this," he said.

Nonetheless, Chapman "stood by the agents' decision to file charges, citing faith in a process that yielded an appropriate resolution."

"You don't know all the facts until you complete the investigation," he said.

Is it common practice to draw a weapon on an underage person suspected of purchasing alcohol?

[Garcia Bronco]

Originally Posted by alnorth

It was one cop, showing her badge, wanting to talk. That is not overreacting.

Once she decided to ignore the cop and leave, it is game on. The act of trying to evade a cop is probable cause to presume they are wanted or carrying something they shouldn't. (drugs, weapons, warrants, etc)

You'd have a point if they weren't carrying bottled water, but they were. Like I said. You don't know the area.

[Beef Supreme]

Originally Posted by alnorth

It was one cop, showing her badge, wanting to talk. That is not overreacting.

Once she decided to ignore the cop and leave, it is game on. The act of trying to evade a cop is probable cause to presume they are wanted or carrying something they shouldn't. (drugs, weapons, warrants, etc)

Ignoring a cop who doesn't have probable cause, is not probable cause.

[mikey23545]

Originally Posted by BigChiefTablet

Ignoring a cop who doesn't have probable cause, is not probable cause.

Yep.

And people are allowed to overreact when they know they are doing nothing wrong and they suddenly have "cops" flashing badges and pulling guns and breaking in car windows and jumping on the hood...

I can't believe we have idiots on this board defending these vicious Barney Fifes....

[Molitoth]

Wouldn't you think ABC would have an agent inside the store watching underage kids checkout? Maybe even with a walkie talkie to the other agents outside the store?

This would have saved a lot of bullshit all over some sparkling water.

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

Wouldn't you think ABC would have an agent inside the store watching underage kids checkout?

This would have saved a lot of bullshit all over some sparkling water.

I worked at a liquor store for a few months after my stint in the Navy.
we'd have the ABC folks there; but they're just give us a heads-up that they were out in the parking lot, and/or in the store.

was pretty easy. not sure why these pricks went SEAL Team 6 on her.

[Dartgod]

"I couldn't put my windows down unless I started my car, and when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the car.

Dumb on her part. You do not need to start the car to roll down the windows, you only need to turn the key to the run position.

They began trying to break the windows. My roommates and I were ... terrified."

Dumb on the agent's part.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

One side is lying.

Neither side is lying. No one is saying that first contact was 7 agents with guns out.

[Dayze]

"lemme see your hands!! put em up! Drop the hard lemonade"!!

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

You'd have a point if they weren't carrying bottled water, but they were. Like I said. You don't know the area.

The fact that it was bottled water is completely irrelevant.

It looked like beer, she tried to leave.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by BigChiefTablet

Ignoring a cop who doesn't have probable cause, is not probable cause.

She didn't ignore the cop, she knew she was there. She may not have known she was a cop, but once she ignored orders from a cop showing a badge and tried to leave, that looks like you have a reason to evade the cops. Of course its probable cause.

edit: regarding probable cause for the initial stop, she looks young, she's carrying something out of a store that looks like beer. The cop absolutely has probable cause to stop her and check for alchohol and age.

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Neither side is lying. No one is saying that first contact was 7 agents with guns out.

One side is saying the agents approached as a group, the other saying a lone female agent approached intially. There is a lie in there some where.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Dayze

I worked at a liquor store for a few months after my stint in the Navy.
we'd have the ABC folks there; but they're just give us a heads-up that they were out in the parking lot, and/or in the store.

was pretty easy. not sure why these pricks went SEAL Team 6 on her.

So what are you supposed to just not card when this happens? I'm confused as to what ABC thinks they're accomplishing, when the person inside is supposed to be vigorously checking IDs anyway.

Also there's something about a 20-year-old getting busted for alcohol that just pisses me off to my core anyway, like cops don't have anything better to do. You've already been able to go kill people in Iraq for two years, you can vote, you can drive for four years because we need you as part of the economy, you're not even a minor for any purposes other than alcohol – but let's bust you for something like public intoxication. Such a ridiculous waste of resources on every level.

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

So what are you supposed to just not card when this happens? I'm confused as to what ABC thinks they're accomplishing, when the person inside is supposed to be vigorously checking IDs anyway.

he was just there milling about to make sure I carded them.
if they thought they were still to young, they'd have the people outside ask for ID. I suppose it was becasue they didn't expect the person ringing them up to recognize a fake ID?

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by Dayze

I worked at a liquor store for a few months after my stint in the Navy.
we'd have the ABC folks there; but they're just give us a heads-up that they were out in the parking lot, and/or in the store.

was pretty easy. not sure why these pricks went SEAL Team 6 on her.

Give you a heads up? shit. Down in Texas the agency hires underage kids to go into liquor stores and bars to try and purchase booze. You serve 'em and an agent comes in and arrests you.

[suzzer99]

Yeah I guess fakes are getting pretty sophisticated now with the Internet. My kid goes to USC. Her and a bunch of her friends paid $80 apiece for fakes from random states around the country.

The funny/dumb thing is she used her real street address on a Maine license because she wanted to be able to remember it in a pinch. Which has led to some sticky situations if her and her mom both happen to get carded.