A homeless man was just arrested and spent the night in jail after police claim he was charging his cellphone in a public picnic shelter. That, apparently, is a serious, arrestable crime in Sarasota, Florida.
Darren Kersey, 28, was charged with “theft of utilities” after he was spotted charging his cell phone at Gillespie Park by Police Sgt. Anthony Frangioni.
Since he was unable to come up with the $500 bail, Kersey had to spend Sunday night behind bars.
Frangioni claims that he told Kersey that the “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy.”
Circuit Judge Charles Williams threw the case out first thing Monday morning, allowing Kersey to walk free. The judge said the cop basically made the law up and that he lacked any legal justification to make this arrest.
