Well, it's been almost 2 1/2 years dealing with this scumbag. He was supposed to pay restitution to all of us that he stole electronics from; but never paid one red cent.
The last court appearance (a couple of months ago) the judge was pissed. No effort was made at all by Mr Dates. The judge sent him to the detention center and I assume he was processed and released on bail.
Over the two years, he would be served to appear in court, not bother to show, a warrant would be put out for him, he would appear in court (the next time), and give a host of excuses why he couldn't pay restitution.
TODAY, I get a letter in the mail from the court system saying "the defendants case has been closed by order of the court. Therefore, any collection of the unpaid balance is unlikely. This would not prevent you from pursuing civil action against the defendant."
WTF; case closed
I get on the phone and call the number listed in the letter for more information
I expect this asshat to be behind bars; but NOOOOOO, they can't find any evidence that he is incarcerated. They tell me it is POSSIBLE that he is home with an ankle bracelet, but that doesn't show on their computer system.
Are you kidding me? So I ask the guy on the phone if this happens often. "All the time" is his answer. This thief was supposed to do 18 months behind bars!!!
So I ask once again; are you sure your system doesn't show him in jail? He confirms his first response. So I tell him that Bernie and Hillary would be ecstatic with this outcome
Silence; on the other end. I think the top of his head blew off
So I tell him that this jerk has made fools of us all. He was originally charged with a felony. We dropped the charges down to give him a break
Then the judge found him guilty, but he only had to pay restitution on the "deductible" that we had to pay to the insurance company.
So if he steals a unit and sells it for $1000; then gets caught and has to pay me $500 (deductible); he pockets $500.
Then he runs us around in the court system using every excuse possible to stay out of jail. He either doesn't have a lawyer (case postponed) or he can't pay restitution because he doesn't have a job; and the court gives him more time to pay.
Now he's sitting home (probably) watching TV and laughing his ass off at us. I tell the guy from the court system that November can't get here fast enough. He says "excuse me, what do you mean?". I say, I'm not a fervent Donald Trump supporter, but this **** has got to change. Every elected official should be sent a message; "if you are more concerned with the felon, than the victim, you will be replaced".
Gov. Hogan's veto was just overridden by the democrats in Annapolis. Felons will now have the right to vote once they get out of jail. O'Malley couldn't get illegal people in Maryland drivers license's and signed up to vote fast enough.
Well, I hope change is coming. And I will not apologize for my opinion. No longer will I give a chit if I am considered politically incorrect. Half of the politicians (dems and repubs) need to be not only voted out of office, but run out on a rail as well.
So there you have it; my experience with the court system.
5th