Mother Has 12-Year-Old Son Arrested for Opening Christmas Gift Early

[M A V I C]

Is it just me, or is this a complete waste of taxpayer resources?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234638,00.html

A 12-year-old South Carolina boy got an unexpected stocking stuffer — a pair of handcuffs — after he snuck into his Christmas gifts a few weeks early.

After a mother discovered her son had unwrapped a Nintendo Game Boy Advance that was meant for him as a present from his grandmother, she called the Rock Hill Police and had the young man arrested for petty larceny, according to the police report filed this week.

"He took it without permission. He wanted it. He just took it," the boy's 63-year-old great-grandmother told the Rock Hill Herald....

[Seacrest]

[quote M A V I C]Is it just me, or is this a complete waste of taxpayer resources?
No, it's not you.
The cops should have done this. http://www.ebaumsworld.com/bk.html

[Todd's keyboard]

My wife still has Immigration Canada on speed dial. Even though I now am a landed immigrant, my understanding is that she can have me escorted to the border and deported if I start nibbilng things in the icebox that ought to be left alone. :-)

Todd's expatriot keyboard

[karsen]

Seacrest: They should have gone down there and arrested the lady who called 911.

[Racer X]

one year, my older brother slit open the backs of everyones presents with an X-acto knife to determine who was getting what.

That would have earned him life, right?

[Lux Interior]

I think some here would have been quite happy to see the thief wasted by the cops.

[SteveJobs]

Every year, as a young kid, I'd sneak up at night while parents were sleeping, and completely unwrap all my gifts and re-wrap them.

[Racer X]

get A ROPE!

[(vikm)]

Yep, I'm just happy they didn't decide to shoot the kid.

[AlphaDog]

As potentially controversial as this is going to sound, I can think of a number of juveniles I've dealt with through the years who might have been better served by parents who took a hard line approach like this mother did. I'm sure there's much more to this story (starting with the fact the mother of a 12 year old is only 27 herself!), but just the additional information about his criminal history before this incident indicates somebody needs to do something to get his attention. Sadly, the juvenile justice system is occasionally the only option for some people, especially those with low incomes and no access to social services.