JFox
Smash Hero
So a very good friend of mine who is 19 was arrested today. I cannot believe the ridiculous set of events that caused such a terrible thing to happen to such an innocent person.
First let me start by saying that he is one of the nicest and most straight edge friends that I have, and he is just a victim of bad luck.
Here's how it went down-
He was lost in Fort Monmouth (a town in New Jersey) on some rinkydink road. He was running out of gas and his gas light had just turned on at this point. So he notices that behind a fence it looks like there is a gas pump. He decides to pull onto this dirt road where a cop stops him and asks what his business is being there. He explains that he is very low on gas and wanted to know if he could pay for a bit of gas to get him home. The cop tells him there is a station 5 miles down the road. My friend thanks him for the information, decides to leave this strange place.
In order to leave the way he came, he goes a bit further on this dirt road where he then U-turns to go out the way he came. But as he is turning around smoke starts coming out the front of his car. He realizes that his car is in bad condition, and so he decides its best to just go to the gas station he saw in order to put his car in a garage and possibly get some help. He stops at the gas station, but there is no one working at the pump. He goes inside a small room-sized building where he asks someone for assistance. While inside a different cop decided to check out why smoke is coming out of this mysterious vehicle.
When my friend comes out, the cop is there and questioning him. The cop asks him if he was asked to leave. My friend says he was, but that explains the condition his car was in (which coincidently his radiator blew, and had nothing to do with his lack of fuel) was not drive-able. He explains the entire situation, and the cop says to him "you were asked to leave, I don't care about your car's condition. And now, I am going to have to arrest you"
Apparently he was arrested for trespassing on what turned out to be a military base. (Fort Monmouth) He was cuffed and driven to the holding cell on the base, where they processed him and put him in a cell for about an hour before allowing him to contact anyone. After thoroughly searching him and his car, they found 3 small peices of fireworks (which are illegal in the state of New Jersey) in his trunk, which we only didn't end up using because it started to rain that night. He was charged with trespassing on a military base and possession of fireworks. His trial is in December, and he faces possible fines, and up to 6 months in prison. Even if he is let off easy, and doesn't have to pay any fines or spend time in prison, he now has an arrest record which will hinder him from getting into grad school and whenever he applies for jobs.
It's hard to express my frustration on the subject. How is one not supposed to be bitter toward law enforcement after such an occurance? He is an extremely smart person with a promising future. It's so unfortunate that such an unnecessary thing happened to such a great person. And all because of a series of unfortunate events that were in no way his fault. And now he is punished for a mistake.
Anyway, I thought it would be good to write it out for myself, and a decent topic of discussion.
First let me start by saying that he is one of the nicest and most straight edge friends that I have, and he is just a victim of bad luck.
Here's how it went down-
He was lost in Fort Monmouth (a town in New Jersey) on some rinkydink road. He was running out of gas and his gas light had just turned on at this point. So he notices that behind a fence it looks like there is a gas pump. He decides to pull onto this dirt road where a cop stops him and asks what his business is being there. He explains that he is very low on gas and wanted to know if he could pay for a bit of gas to get him home. The cop tells him there is a station 5 miles down the road. My friend thanks him for the information, decides to leave this strange place.
In order to leave the way he came, he goes a bit further on this dirt road where he then U-turns to go out the way he came. But as he is turning around smoke starts coming out the front of his car. He realizes that his car is in bad condition, and so he decides its best to just go to the gas station he saw in order to put his car in a garage and possibly get some help. He stops at the gas station, but there is no one working at the pump. He goes inside a small room-sized building where he asks someone for assistance. While inside a different cop decided to check out why smoke is coming out of this mysterious vehicle.
When my friend comes out, the cop is there and questioning him. The cop asks him if he was asked to leave. My friend says he was, but that explains the condition his car was in (which coincidently his radiator blew, and had nothing to do with his lack of fuel) was not drive-able. He explains the entire situation, and the cop says to him "you were asked to leave, I don't care about your car's condition. And now, I am going to have to arrest you"
Apparently he was arrested for trespassing on what turned out to be a military base. (Fort Monmouth) He was cuffed and driven to the holding cell on the base, where they processed him and put him in a cell for about an hour before allowing him to contact anyone. After thoroughly searching him and his car, they found 3 small peices of fireworks (which are illegal in the state of New Jersey) in his trunk, which we only didn't end up using because it started to rain that night. He was charged with trespassing on a military base and possession of fireworks. His trial is in December, and he faces possible fines, and up to 6 months in prison. Even if he is let off easy, and doesn't have to pay any fines or spend time in prison, he now has an arrest record which will hinder him from getting into grad school and whenever he applies for jobs.
It's hard to express my frustration on the subject. How is one not supposed to be bitter toward law enforcement after such an occurance? He is an extremely smart person with a promising future. It's so unfortunate that such an unnecessary thing happened to such a great person. And all because of a series of unfortunate events that were in no way his fault. And now he is punished for a mistake.
Anyway, I thought it would be good to write it out for myself, and a decent topic of discussion.
