I can't decide what this man's punishment should be for this 'stunt' with his daughter:

[Are_grits_groceries]

A Lacombe man and his daughter hatched an unusual practical joke to entertain themselves as they drove down Interstate 12: tie the girl's hands, duct-tape her mouth and watch the startled expressions as their fellow drivers noticed the apparent kidnapping in progress.

It was apparently a very realistic depiction. But the man's fellow motorists, who boxed the pickup in until law enforcement arrived, and the deputies who arrested him, weren't laughing.

Tim Williams, 45, was returning to St. Tammany Parish with his 12-year-old daughter after picking her up from his ex-wife at the Texas state line Wednesday afternoon when the two came up with the idea, said St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Cpl. Sean Beavers. During the stunt, duct tape was used to bind the girl's hands and cover her mouth, Beaver said.

"I don't know who in their right mind would want to play at a child abduction with their 12-year-old daughter," he said.

It's unclear when the two first started the stunt, but at least three motorists called 9-1-1 to report an abduction after seeing the girl bound and gagged in the front seat of the pickup about 3:50 p.m. as the vehicle passed the Louisiana 1077 exit on I-12, Beavers said. Deputies rushed to the highway as several motorists surrounded the truck in an attempt to keep the supposed kidnapper from getting away, he said.

The patrol cars caught up with Williams at the Louisiana 59 exit and learned it was all a prank when they pulled Williams over, Beavers said.

Because of the severity of the situation, Williams was booked into the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington with criminal mischief and contributing to the delinquency of a minor before being released later in the day on a $3,000 bond. His daughter, who was not identified because she is a juvenile, was cited for criminal mischief and released to the care of an uncle, Beavers said.
http://www.first-draft.com/

Under the jail for a year or two? At least the other motorists took action.

[cali]

1. wow. sick shit. keep him away from his daughter.

[Sherman A1]

2. The level of dumbness is amazing

and makes one angry, but jail don't fix stupid. I think an exceptionally long period of some type of community service.. washing police cars, wearing a "I am really stupid" sign, picking up garbage along the road, scrubbing the road with a toothbrush...........

[lazarus]

5. yeah

Community service would be good. I wonder what the custody situation is like. This guy is dangerously stupid.

[lillypaddle]

3. Hard to imagine

what the hell this guy was thinking. Sheesh.

[whathehell]

4. What a flaming a-hole...I don't know that the kid should be cited for anything

Hell, she's only twelve and "daddy" probably talked her into it.

[DrDan]

6. determine the "cost" of this stunt - start with that - hit his pocketbook first

then apply a punishment.

[Sherman A1]

8. Good Idea

I think that is a fine place to start along with a public apology to the folks who responded to what they saw as a dangerous situation (the other drivers, the police, dispatcher, etc). I think he needs some very public humiliation along with a very stiff fine.

[blondeatlast]

24. +1. nt

[Kaleva]

38. +2

[Chemisse]

7. As stupid and mean-spirited as this prank was

Jail is too severe.

It would be really nice if he was required to do community service that had him (and maybe his daughter too!) helping a search for actual kidnap victims. They would realize in a hurry that what they did was not funny at all.

[LARED]

9. Terminal Stupidity might be punishment enough. nt

[lpbk2713]

10. Excellent way to end up dead.

A gun toter could witness what was going down and act impulsively,
shoot the idiot and worry about the consequences later. And what
would make it worse, the girl couldn't say anything to stop it
until the smoke cleared with her mouth taped shut.

Daddy is a Darwin nominee survivor.

[shadowknows69]

41. Not to mention a SWAT sniper once someone called it in.

As soon as he stopped at a light that guy's melon could be all over the windshield.

[TexasObserver]

11. He can look forward to supervised visitation.

Having children doesn't take any sense, but rearing them does.

[Jamastiene]

12. The STUPID. It hurts.

What an idiot.

I take it no part of that man's (what passes for a) brain ever pinged a thought of "This is not going to turn out well."

[Somawas]

13. Fuhgedaboudit.

Arresting the guy is stupid bullshit. The guy is not smart, but it was a prank. Goofing off. Nothing criminal about it.

[Are_grits_groceries]

15. Do you realize the amount of resources

tied up in this prank? There is nothing that will mobilize every known entity when something like this is reported. At the very least, he endangered the other drivers on the highway who were taking action.

A whoopee cushion or a stupid phone call is a prank. This was on a completely different level.

[DefenseLawyer]

16. It may or may not have been a crime

A jury can decide that. But let's not get carried away with the "wasted resources" angle. Unless they pulled in extra officers to pull an extra shift to arrest this guy, those officers were already on the job. Their cost to the taxpayers is the same whether they are arresting that guy or doing something else. That's their job. Sure you can argue that their time was wasted, and it most certainly was, but that is a bit hard to quantify. We pay peace officers to keep the peace. Sometimes it's a crime, sometimes it's an idiot.

[Are_grits_groceries]

17. I tend to get a little upset

about anybody who pulls a stunt about child abduction. He's lucky that the motorists didn't stop him and drag him out of his truck with a gun aimed at him. I doubt that they would have believed it was his daughter no matter what was said.

The balloon boy was a prank on a bigger scale. That father got 60 days and more.

[DefenseLawyer]

18. I don't disagree

It was a thoughtless thing to do. It may well have been a crime. My only issue is the equation of the law enforcement costs with the seriousness of the crime or even whether it was a crime at all. There is what I think is a disturbing trend in this country to routinely seek to have citizens "reimburse" the police for the cost of arresting them or of helping them. The balloon boy debacle comes to mind. At first blush that seems reasonable and fair. He wasted their time, he has to pay. But who decides what was a waste of time? If the child had really pulled off this stunt, should the parent still have to pay for not watching closely enough? What if there was a babysitter? Is she on the hook? The problem is money will cloud the judgment of the police. If police have a financial incentive to make a case against someone, wouldn't you assume that it could create on conflict of interest? If people are charged individually every time they call the police, won't the poor be even less likely to call for help? Police protection is a public good. We pay for the protection of all, even those who can't or won't pay taxes. Talking about the specific cost of any particular incident that the police are already paid to deal with what I take issue with. I share your sentiments about this particular idiot.

[Are_grits_groceries]

21. I'm not talking about the monetary

value so much as the number of people who get tied up with it. In addition, this type of thing could desensitize people about getting involved. I wonder what the people who were involved in this will think the next time. That also goes for people hearing about it.

It is a slippery slope when charging people for calling. I don't know about that so much as not just wrist slapping someone for an admitted 'prank' like this. Gah! A whole new list of prank judgements. I think the laws such as criminal mischief may cut it, but I don't know how those read.

I don't want his head on a pike. I just don't want him smirking away like he got over on people. That invites more creativity for some idiots such as this man apparently is. You gave me things to think about. Thanks.

[Somawas]

44. "Criminal Mischief" is defined as:

A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the fourth degree when,
having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he
has such right, he:
1. Intentionally damages property of another person; or
2. Intentionally participates in the destruction of an abandoned
building as defined in section one thousand nine hundred seventy-one-a
of the real property actions and proceedings law; or
3. Recklessly damages property of another person in an amount
exceeding two hundred fifty dollars.

That's the New York Statute. Here's the discussion at Wikipedia:

In United States criminal law, mischief is an offense against property that does not involve conversion. It typically involves any damage, defacement, alteration, or destruction of property. Common forms include vandalism, graffiti, or some other destruction or defacement of property other than arson. Governed by state law, criminal mischief is committed when a perpetrator, having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he/she has such right, intentionally damages property of another person, intentionally participates in the destruction of property of another person, or participates in the reckless damage or destruction of property of another person. <3> Criminal mischief is usually a misdemeanor.

[Ikonoklast]

32. Child Protective Services will probably disagree with you.

This jerk will lose any unsupervised time with his child.

Yes, they will see this as a criminal event.

[Somawas]

43. CPS is the biggest crowd of officiious, intermeddling

sonsabitches I have ever encountered. They honestly seem to believe their own horseshit-that "protecting children," even children who have neither the need nor the desire to be protected, justifies running over people and interfering with their lives.

[WolverineDG]

45. She's 12, so they probably won't care

the kid's too old to sell on the adoption market.

dg

[chrisa]

34. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do.

I mean, I'm all for pranks and having fun, but this is really not something to joke about. It's like pulling out a gun and waving it at people, "all in good fun." He's lucky nobody crashed, or nobody attacked him thinking the prank was real.

[ashling]

40. I assume that you have the same attitude about the baloon boy

What if in that situation the report had been made by a concerned neighbor who did not have knowledge of the facts so there could be no charge of filing a false report?

[barbtries]

14. how do you punish stupid?

i don't know.

[hootinholler]

19. Stoopud tends to punish itself. n/t

[izquierdista]

20. How about ---- nothing?

I know this will inflame the fuck-him-in-the-ass-cut-his-balls-off-waterboard-him-smear-him-with-honey-and-tie-him-to-an-anthill types that like to frequent here, but you have to admit, it got a lot of people to overreact. There used to be a time, before the fascist takeover, when people would chuckle at such things, and admit that they were spoofed.

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. I don't think that ever chuckling

at a possible child abduction is an appropriate response. Getting people to overreact isn't necessarily funny. It depends on the case. Getting an overreaction to filling an office full of styrofoam peanuts may be funny at some point. I doubt if anybody involved in the abduction stunt went home and said 'Well that was sure a hoot' after they had time to reflect about it.

[dysfunctional press]

27. +100

[ashling]

23. Having full custody given to the mother for a start

though that is not a punishment as much as in the best interest of the child

[MindPilot]

36. How do we know the mother will be an improvment?

She was already stupid enough to have a child with this doofus.

[TicketyBoo]

46. Maybe so,

but she was evidently smart enough to divorce him.

I'm guessing she'll not have a problem getting full custody at this point.

[pipi_k]

25. IMO, his punishment should include

public humiliation (his photo and name published in the newspaper for a couple of weeks), community service, and some sort of counseling.

Oh, and supervised visitation for at least a year, maybe longer.



People are hesitant enough about getting involved without assholes like this pulling "pranks"

[lunatica]

26. A long stint in Parenting 101 is an ideas that comes to mind

Ordered by the judge with frequent progress reports.

[Hekate]

28. I am totally impressed with the other motorists, who boxed him in. Him? Another idjit ...

... with the IQ of a speed bump.

Hekate

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Perhaps we now understand why the wife is an ex

[ProgressiveProfessor]

30. No violation, no formal punishment

Its very stupid, but there is no crime. Criminal mischief is a catchall cops use when nothing else fits.

On a practical level, the time and money spent for them to defend themselves and the follow ups from CPS will be more that adequate deterrent.

[salguine]

31. I smell reality show!

[Maru Kitteh]

33. Has anyone considered that it may not have been entirely a prank on his part?

We will never know what his true plans were, imo.

I would prefer to see the "father" locked up for at least a year or two and then placed on very, very lengthy probation.

I don't think the child should be charged with anything as it's most likely she was merely going along with the stunt and trying to please her absent father. The social service system should however intervene and mandate some counseling for the poor kid so she can gain a better understanding of boundaries and gaining/maintaining security in her mental AND physical person.

I don't buy that this was "just a prank" on the so-called father's part.

[ashling]

39. I was thinking the same thing

At the very least, the 12 yr old needed to be separated from the father and interviewed by a caring professional social services worker.

Perhaps this "practical joke" was gettting the 12 yr old to feel safe being bound with duct tape.

I hope not.

[TransitJohn]

35. Nothing.

Where's the crime? Was he deliberately trying to deceive law enforcement?

[JVS]

37. Seems the punishment he got was fair, but I'd keep an eye on him and the daughter for other stuff...

that might be going on.

[northernlights]

42. they can start by taking away his visitation/custody rights

He's too stupid and ignorant to be allowed to influence his daughter in any way, shape or form.

And a whole lot of community service, volunteering in an amber alert call center or something along those lines could also go a long way towards turning on a light in what passes for a brain.

On the other hand, reading about the other drivers who boxed him in so he couldn't escape brought tears to my eyes.

[Marr]

47. I'm just happy to hear the other motorists took action.

I was afraid I was about to read a Kitty Genovese sort of story.