LAND OF THE FREE??

[Guest]

The article below is only reprinted in part. Click on the link to read the story at the source.

Pretty amazing story!!

Very little doubt in my mind that this sentence has to do with the destination of the two young men involved.

Six months of county time for taking food out of the trash!!

Check out the comments beneath the story at the link.

moose eater
-----------------------------------------------
Men were on their way to Rainbow Gathering when they were arrested

Updated 12:12 a.m., September 2, 2006

David Siller, 27, of Wayne, Pa., (file photo) and
Giles Charlé, 24, of Somersworth, N.H., was
sentenced to six months in jail for stealing food
out of a dumpster. (file photo)
http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2006/sep/01/men_get_six_months_jail_stealing_food_trash/

Steamboat Springs * Their crime? Taking five
cucumbers, four or five apricots, two bundles of
asparagus spears and a handful of cherries from a
garbage can at Sweet Pea Produce.

Their sentence? Six months in the Routt County Jail.

Giles Charlé, 24, of Somer-sworth, N.H., and
David Siller, 27, of Wayne, Pa., were on their
way to the Rainbow Family of Living Light
Gathering in North Routt County when they were
arrested June 26. On Wednesday, they were
sentenced to spend six months in jail and pay $15
in restitution to Sweet Pea Produce.

Charlé and Siller were charged with felony
second-degree burglary and misdemeanor theft. As
part of a plea agreement reached with Assistant
District Attorney Kerry St. James, the men agreed
to plead guilty to misdemeanor trespass in
exchange for having the felony they were facing dismissed.

St. James said the sentence was the men’s decision.

“They had a choice between accepting a deferred
felony with 90 days in jail or a misdemeanor
conviction with six months in jail,” he said.
“They agreed to spend the six months in jail. It
came down to whether they wanted a felony
conviction with less jail time or a misdemeanor with more jail.”

Contacted Friday, the owner of Sweet Pea Produce
declined to comment on the case.

Siller and Charlé, speaking from the Routt County
Jail, said they didn’t have much choice. They
said they couldn’t risk having felonies on their
records and that St. James wouldn’t offer
anything better on the misdemeanor charge.

The men said they think six months in jail was an
inappropriately harsh sentence given their crime.

“We weren’t trying to be inconspicuous. We didn’t
have any intention of committing a crime or doing
anything wrong,” Charlé said. “We had just come
in town and we were prepared to buy groceries
from a store but everything was closed.”
--------------SNIP------------------------------

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

I find this troubling to say the least. In a land where we have religon throw in our faces. saying that our laws are based off 10 commandments ( which is a joke to me) and our president saying he is a christian how can they treat hungry people this way? What ever happened to helping others less fortunate? What ever happened to feeding the hungry? Is this what Jesus would do? The people involved in this sentance have no right to go to a church or say they beleive in god after treating hungry people this way.

Just another example of this countries downward spiral. How we treat others whom are less fortunate speaks volumes. Look at katrina. All those people without cars , $$ or a place to go to in order to avoid the storm got shit. No help from our government. I am almost ashamed to say I gave 4 years of my life to protct this country, becasue what I was protecting is now fading away.








Nevermind

 

[Guest]

This country is FAR from being the land of the free. 99 years without parole to the pothead with a previously clean record for growing a plant, 3 years to the armed robber who's in and out of jail for shooting the store clerk. Something's definately wrong here.

Next thing we'll have in this country is the KGB....oh wait, we already do: The Department of Homeland Security (Or as they called it in Stalinist Soviet Union - "Committee for State Security" ((in Russian) Komitet Gosudarstvenoi Bezopasnosti (KGB)).

If America ever passes out as a great nation, we ought to put on our tombstone: America died from a delusion she had Moral Leadership. ~ Will Rogers

 

[MasterBudGrower]

Dam putting people in jail becuse they were hungry!! What have we reduced our country to.

 

[Guest]

I just don't know what it is going to take to change our country around. I am so sick of the government, state, and county policies. Will cannabis ever be completely legal in the US, I think not. The more that terrorists attack, the tighter the grip of BigBro becomes. Rapists and murderers walk free, while someone using a god given pure plant as medicine, is put in prison, and their life ruined. I am so sick of the United States laws, I sometimes wish I had the power to fight against the corruption. If you stand up against the government, you are labeled as a terrorist, even if done non-violently.

Sorry for the long rant. Reading about the Rainbow brothers getting 6 months for getting food out of the trash really pisses me off.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

Well said, people....one and all.

 

[naga_sadu]

RI...DICULOUS. And I was thinking that DPR Korea was bad...

Fuck whoevers in charge of the city need to be sent to a fucking gulag. This is outright camel shit to the core...

 

[Guest]

Dumbest thing I've ever heard and being a former resident of the offending state that is supposed to be so progressive and smart.That's why I moved to New Mex.I don't think that could happen there but who knows, I wouldn't think that could happen anywhere.I've seen people get busted with thirty plants and walk right back home down here.%$#@ Colorado, nice state but....Peace MUCHA LUCHA.

 

[Guest]

I too think its insane, but there is part of the story that they didnt mention in that article.

I live close to steamboat spgs. CO, where these people were convicted.

To begin with the gathering was HUGE close to 20,000 people was the count that I recall....and their permit was denied by the forest svc. (for various reasons)...but the event went on regardless.

The area they chose is beautiful....however I dont think its the best location for a Rainbow fest. mainly because the people of that area are RICH ranchers, and they def. dont see eye to eye w/ hippies.

OK now to the rest of the story....The Rainbow peeps would go into the grocery store all dirty and smelly from camping and roughin it....when the produce misters came on in the store they washed their hands and face, and bodies in/under the mist (forcing the store to have to throw away the produce).

...and of course someone was waiting out back for them to throw it away and they took claim to the goods. (a bit shady I think).

I know this isnt typical behavior of rainbow peeps....but it did not make them look real good in the public eye in colorado.

they were also given tons of tickets for camping w/ out permits, and when they didnt show up to court they took the court to them and set up right there at the gathering just to be sure they didnt skip town w/ out paying.

it was a messed up situation.

when it was all over most peeps went on their merry way...and left a HUGE trash dump behind....I'm talkin nasty filthy garbage everywhere (in the gorgeous mtns where I spend most my time) ...but quite a few did stay back and cleaned up the area to a better condition than it was before they all got there...planted trees and all that too.

just thought I'd elaborate a bit on the story for yas

-yukon

 

[Jam Master Jaco]

I too think its insane, but there is part of the story that they didnt mention in that article.

I live close to steamboat spgs. CO, where these people were convicted.

To begin with the gathering was HUGE close to 20,000 people was the count that I recall....and their permit was denied by the forest svc. (for various reasons)...but the event went on regardless.

The area they chose is beautiful....however I dont think its the best location for a Rainbow fest. mainly because the people of that area are RICH ranchers, and they def. dont see eye to eye w/ hippies.

OK now to the rest of the story....The Rainbow peeps would go into the grocery store all dirty and smelly from camping and roughin it....when the produce misters came on in the store they washed their hands and face, and bodies in/under the mist (forcing the store to have to throw away the produce).

...and of course someone was waiting out back for them to throw it away and they took claim to the goods. (a bit shady I think).

I know this isnt typical behavior of rainbow peeps....but it did not make them look real good in the public eye in colorado.

they were also given tons of tickets for camping w/ out permits, and when they didnt show up to court they took the court to them and set up right there at the gathering just to be sure they didnt skip town w/ out paying.

it was a messed up situation.

when it was all over most peeps went on their merry way...and left a HUGE trash dump behind....I'm talkin nasty filthy garbage everywhere (in the gorgeous mtns where I spend most my time) ...but quite a few did stay back and cleaned up the area to a better condition than it was before they all got there...planted trees and all that too.

just thought I'd elaborate a bit on the story for yas

-yukon

Thanks. There is always more then meets the eye when it comes to stories like this.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Yukon for adding the details, I still think jailtime was unjustified, even for dirty poser hippies

 

[Guest]

The story says that these guys were busted after hours. Meaning after the store was closed. Not waiting out back during hours.

Yukon, how certain are you that these sorts of things were going on in the store? Were these local rumors? If you read the comments of the locals there below the story at the link, including thew red necks, none of them seem to be aware of the extra details either.

I rode a customized motorcycle through that area in 1979, headed West, over into Vernal, Utah, where I changed a rear tire, and down through Bryce Canyon country, shooting film, and got what was probably the only room in a motel during my ride in Vernal. It was R-E-D N-E-C-K.

I had folks from the motel hanging around outside the window to my room on the other side of the curtain into the evening as I toked discreeetly in my washroom on some low-pungency 'shish.

It was most definitely a place I was glad to see in my rearview mirror as I headed S.W. on my ride.

Re. the Rainbow Family, the permitting process, which I followed through a variety of sources, was not applied for. They regard themselves as 'X number' of -individuals-.

Asking a member of the RF to assume leadership over others is a violation of their philosophy of independence and the fact that they don't acknowledge a hierarchy of that sort.

They simply refused to apply for something that placed -one- of them 'in charge' of thousands of others in a representative capacity.

And they're in great part worshippers of the Earth. I'd be heartily disappointed and surprised if they left the woods full of trash. Seriously.

moose eater

Over in Vernal, I had

 

[Guest]

moose

bro... i"m not certain of the "in store" activity beyond "local rumor"

the rainbow peeps did NOT leave the forest trashed (as I stated) ....its the ones that showed up for a couple weeks of camping/drugging ...then split at the end. I said they left it really nice. I bet less than 10% were rainbow peeps tho.

 

[Guest]

>>I bet less than 10% were rainbow peeps tho<<<

Hey Yukon,

Same shit happened in the 60s and 70s to 'the cause.'

There were those who were committed, who stayed tight. And those who were along for the free sex and drugs, and weaseled when it got heavy. Tag-a-longs will screw up a good thing almost always.

Don Whirtshafter, the attorney from Ohio, ran, or runs, the Ohio Hempery. He's a -very good- person!!

P.S.- I've never been back through Vernal again (thankfully), though I had some serious close calls down in Knab/Kanab, Utah in about '83, that could've resulted in serious bad times, but instead resulted in a repair ticket on my old '64 short-bed, step-side Ford p/u.. There's places in that whole country where I've gone in wanting breakfast, seriously hungry, wearing a pony-tail (in the later 70s), and when I walked in the place would go -dead quiet-, literally, even with 50 people in the cafe, up in the plateau country of Utah, and in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, too, with me riding a bike with a king-queen seat and an extended front end, with ape hangers. Those are some of the only times that I ordered a coffee to go on a bike with no cup holder. Remember that woman at McDonalds with the hot coffee between her legs? Well, if she thought that -she- had problems...... ;^>)

moose eater

 

[Guest]

There's still some(plenty) of bible rednecks in Pagosa Springs(had my home raided there in 92', totally empty but for my bong and an eighth, somebody ratted me in Durango).Anyway they don't like hippies but the snowboard culture has eased 'em up a bit, I still don't think they'd want to see too many rainbow people.Love Wolf Creek though.Peace.MUCHA LUCHA!!!!!

 

[Guest]

Excerpts from a follow-up story;

Sweet Pea Produce didn't want charges pressed at all.

The DA reportedly outright stated that he was going to make an example of them (for being related to the Rainbow Gathering). I wonder if that's not only serious grounds for appeal, but misconduct charges on the part of the DA's office? Malicious prosecution? I dunno'... Of course, they've alreaady plead out now, so perhaps it's too late...

And Yukon, in re-reading the comments, I did find at least one entry that referred to RF folks 'sneezing on veggies on purpose' in front of customers, but it seems to run counter to the majority of the entries..

moose eater
------------------------------------------
Excerpt:
-----------------------------------------
“Once I found out what these guys were being charged with, I contacted (St. James),” said Jonathon Hieb, who owns Sweet Pea with Katherine Zambrana. “I told him, ‘We’re not behind this prosecution. We don’t want anything to do with it.’ I thought for sure my input would have some kind of bearing, but he wasn’t hearing any of it.”

Hieb said St. James told him he was going to make an example of the men.

On Friday, St. James said it was the men’s decision to accept the plea agreement. He would not comment on suggestions that he was trying to make an example of Charlé and Siller. St. James was not available Saturday for comment. Neither was his boss, District Attorney Bonnie Roesink.

Hieb said police contacted him the night of the incident. Police said a neighbor had reported suspicious men at the store after hours.

When first contacted by police, Hieb said he would press charges. He said the men were found with a Sweet Pea Produce bag, which generally only could be acquired from inside the store. He didn’t want them released until he knew what might be missing from or damaged inside the store.

But Hieb said an inspection showed the men never entered the store and must have found one of the store’s bags in the trash area. When police gave Hieb and Zambrana paperwork to fill out and offer their side of what happened, Hieb and Zambrana declined and said they did not want to press charges.

“Immediately — the next day — we said, ‘We don’t want anything to do with this,’” Hieb said.

Hieb said he later learned from Wayne Westphale, the men’s attorney, that they were facing felony charges. Hieb said he agreed with Westphale’s suggestion of 10 to 20 hours of community service as an appropriate punishment. Westphale could not be reached Saturday for comment.

“These guys jumped over the fence and got some over-ripe produce. What they did, at most, was a temporary slip of judgment,” Hieb said. “These guys are not criminals. For them to be in jail is ridiculous.”

Charlé most recently worked as a social worker. Siller is an Americorps volunteer and a yoga instructor. Both men had plans to go to graduate school, family and friends said.
-------------------SNIP-----------------

 

[Guest]

>>>There's still some(plenty) of bible rednecks in Pagosa Springs<<<

Alma was darned near a biker paradise; 13,000 ft elevation at the highway surface just to the North, if I recall correctly, with clear pavement on the South side of the pass, four feet of crusted snow on the shoulders, and very mellow biker comrades from a small tavern in Alma, on a Sunny day in mid-late May, with good smoke of a variety of types and forms.

Breckenridge was alright for the burbs, too, though I skeedaddled outa' any place urban. Urban allergy of sorts. ;^>) Give me a wide-open country road.

Wolf Creek Pass scared the bejessus outa' me. I don't like heights, and on the West side, headed east, there was no guard-rail back then, with it snowing, and me on two wheels. Jittery and slippin'.. I literally rode on the wrong side of that road going up hill. Whew!!!! Almost caused me to reconvert to some form of religiousity!

moose eater

 

[Guest]

when you go to jail you get 3 meals a day. so they are kinda feedin em.

 

[Guest]

I'm gonna' take a guess, and say that the People of Steamboat Springs, as well as the two young men in question, would rather be eating discarded veggies from the dumpster.

Though I have known of indigent persons in the cold of Winter up here in Ak. to commit crimes specifically to get thrown into a warm cell with food.

But I don't think that the case at hand fits those extreme criteria.

Hell, up here, 'dumpster diving' is damned near a recognized sport!! ;^>)

moose eater

 

[BenitoCereno]

I bet you this St. James dude has one extremely small penis...I bet he caught his fat wife and daughter sucking some stinky freegan hippie cock.