Stealing a bike = $300 | Killing a cyclists = $287.50
[B' Spokes: It's really cool that they took this bicycle theft seriously (just wish it was the norm) but I really have to question why negligent driving fines are considerable lower: Negligent driving resulting in serious injury = $140 <a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100206071517726">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100206071517726</a>; Negligent driving resulting in death =$287.50 <a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20091203212215600">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20091203212215600</a>; ]**************************************************
Bike Thief Guilty
OCEAN CITY – A Delaware man arrested in May for swiping a bicycle in West Ocean City because he was “tired of walking” pleaded guilty last week in District Court to theft under $100 and was placed on probation and fined.
Around 1:20 p.m. on May 27, the Maryland State Police received a call about a stolen bicycle. The victim told police she saw an identified man take the bicycle from her property on Old Bridge Rd. in West Ocean City without her permission. The victim provided police with a description of the suspect and the stolen bicycle, which was broadcast to local law enforcement agencies.
About 15 minutes later, a Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) officer reported he had located the possible suspect and the stolen bicycle at St. Louis Ave. and North Division Street in Ocean City. The officer identified the suspect as Ethan Cord Truitt, 18, of Georgetown, Del.
Meanwhile, the MSP officer who handled the original complaint heard from a witness who said he saw the suspect take the bicycle from the victim’s residence and start riding it down Old Bridge Rd. while carrying a skateboard. The witness told police he called for the suspect to stop, but the suspect dropped the skateboard and continued down Old Bridge Rd. on the stolen bicycle.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the MSP trooper transported the victim and the witness to the area in Ocean City where Truitt was being detained and they positively identified the suspect as the individual who had stolen the bicycle. According to police reports, Truitt apologized to the victim and told her he stole the bike “because he was tired of walking.”
The stolen bicycle was returned to its rightful owner and Truitt was arrested and charged with theft under $100. Last week, Truitt pleaded guilty and was placed on probation for one year and fined $300. <a href="http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/article.php?cid=23&id=9167">http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/article.php?cid=23&id=9167</a>;
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