"I Stole Gas and this is My Punishment"
ATLANTA -- A Chevron station in Cherokee County has thought up a new way to make drive-off crimes less appealing by forcing offenders to march along the street with a large, neon pink sign that reads: "I stole gas and this is my punishment," reported WSBTV.com
The offender is Brandon Huff, 22, who recently walked a length of highway near the station as punishment for his crime. Morning commuters honked their horns at Huff, while one driver, Jason Ingle, said "He deserves it, he's a thief."
"One night a few months back, he came in and stole gas and drove off," said store clerk Charles Glass. "He came to steal but he got caught."
The store asked for the sign carrying to be a part of Huff's punishment, and the judge agreed. The station hopes that this will prevent others from committing drive-off crimes, the report stated.
Huff did not wish to comment on his crime or its unusual punishment, however the report stated that this was not the first time he stole gas. "Since he had two cases, he was looking at a license suspension on the second offense, therefore we made it a condition that if he did this [as punishment], we would dismiss the second count which allowed him to save his license," Cherokee County Solicitor General, David Cannon, told WSBTV.com.
"Jail time in a case like this is not feasible, and it would cost more for the county to do that. We think this will get the message across to him and to other people," he added.
The offender is Brandon Huff, 22, who recently walked a length of highway near the station as punishment for his crime. Morning commuters honked their horns at Huff, while one driver, Jason Ingle, said "He deserves it, he's a thief."
"One night a few months back, he came in and stole gas and drove off," said store clerk Charles Glass. "He came to steal but he got caught."
The store asked for the sign carrying to be a part of Huff's punishment, and the judge agreed. The station hopes that this will prevent others from committing drive-off crimes, the report stated.
Huff did not wish to comment on his crime or its unusual punishment, however the report stated that this was not the first time he stole gas. "Since he had two cases, he was looking at a license suspension on the second offense, therefore we made it a condition that if he did this [as punishment], we would dismiss the second count which allowed him to save his license," Cherokee County Solicitor General, David Cannon, told WSBTV.com.
"Jail time in a case like this is not feasible, and it would cost more for the county to do that. We think this will get the message across to him and to other people," he added.