Caught On Tape: Older Man Steals to Feed Kids

Guys,

I saw this on another website, and just had to post it here. Not sure if this has already been discussed.

Here is the video link : VIDEO

I feel so sorry for our state of affairs that this man had to steal to feed his kids, pay rent, etc...

He sounded like he was very regretful in doing it. Now Im not saying what he did was right, however I cant help but feel sorry for the man, even the store clerk offers him $40, and the chance to just walk away and forget it happened.

Thoughts?

---GeminiSky

I don't agree with your perspective. There's no doubt i feel bad for the man if his plight is genuine. But i have personally gone homeless before, and never went as far as robbing someone under threat of death or violence, like i just saw.

I was lucky after weeks of living outside in the cold central-canadian winters, i found a friend who helped me, i stayed there for 3 months and got back on my feet. That feels like a lifetime ago now, although it was only a couple years. I have a nice place, a car, im on my brand new computer now.

I am trying to say, the man needs to find a way to feed his kids without risking the lives of other people who are quite possibly struggling as hard as he is.

Edit: my second paragraph was to explain that hard work and perseverance pay off. If he is ill or unable to work to feed his kids, and by appearance he is in his 50's or older, then perhaps he should have been more responsible when bringing kids into the world in his 40's, and obviously not being financially stable at that age.

reply to post by donkeystyle


Did you have children to feed when you were homeless? Ive been homeless for a few weeks as well, life isnt that tough when you are ALONE, however when you have hungry kids to feed and clothe, your perspective changes rather quickly.

Cant say what Id have done in his position.

---GS

In moments of desperation and extreme necessity, the common man is capable of doing just about anything. I too feel bad for the crook and you could hear in his voice that he did not want to commit the act. He felt he had no other choice I suppose.

I have to play a bit of devil's advocate on this though. His desperation has put him in an even worse position. His bounty will certainly feed his childredn for a day, maybe two. He may be able to stem the eviction from his home for a day or two. But what happens when he is caught?

He was not very cautious in that video. His face is visible, his voice is clearly distinct, his prints are all over the place and he is in fact without a doubt guilty of armed robbery since he both produced a firearm and said the words "I am robbing you". Once he is caught, where are his children going to end up? Where will his home end up? What of any other obligations in his life? He himself will be going to prison. Will some family member step in for the children? If so, why hasnt he asked for help before now? Will they become wards of the state? If so, he will never see them again.

I understand he felt desperate. But, he has a gun to sell, obviously. That would probably net a couple hundred dollars. Perhaps he could have taken the charity of the clerk and combined that to take care of his children and rent for a very short time and there is no telling what might happen.

I know that wont be popular given the state of the economy and the obvious situation and mentality of the antagonist in this video.

reply to post by GeminiSky


Also, i know many mothers who have children and do not work, and are on social assistance. in canada, the government gives you assisted living if you hvae dependents. It is enough to feed the children, put a roof over their heads and their parents, and get the children to school and back.

If america has no form of social assistance for families with children under working age (16-ish? i was personally working when i was 13 at an amusement park, so i coudl contend thats young enough to work), then i just learnedx something about america i didnt know before. please inform me of the situation on families with no income and dependants in america?

If you were actually trying to support your kids, the last thing you'd do would be put yourself in a position where you could go to prison. Who is going to look after the kids then?

"I have kids to feed" isn't really a new line.. this guy just wasn't original.

I wouldn't call pulling a gun on someone polite. That guys family isn't any more important than the clerk behind the counter's family. So he gets money to buy food and than he gets put in jail for robbing a store at gun point. Now who's going to take care of his family if he's in jail? Doesn't make much sense. I'm sure there are enough charitable organizations that would help you if you're that desperate. I'm sure some business owner knowing his desperate plight would hire him to help him out. I have no sympathy for anyone willing to use a gun to take someones life.

nevermind.

Yeah, that's a tough one.

I too have been homeless and hungry, and was caught stealing food. I felt terrible doing it, but that was the position I was in. Even the cops that arrested me felt bad, and when they realized I didn't have the $50 to bail myself out of jail, they all threw in a few dollars and paid it for me rather than leave me in the cell.

I only had myself to worry about, so I can only imagine how adding hungry kids to the equation would contribute to the desperation. But threatening the clerks life over some money, that's a bit much. Maybe the clerk had kids to feed as well, and he obviously sympathized with the robber. I feel for the man myself, but I don't think armed robbery was the way to go. Sad story any way you look at it.

He was arrested two days later, and has since been charged with armed robbery:

seattletimes.nwsource.com...

Gregory Hess, the man charged, is a convicted bank robber, known as the ''Transaction Bandit'', so maybe he's not quite the gent that he's being reported to be by some news sources...

He's also 65, so how old are his ''kids'' that he apparently has to feed ?!

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


No way really?

Well I guess this just goes to show that looks can be deceiving and I sure as hell fell for it!

LOL

--GS

reply to post by GeminiSky


There might still be more to the story.

Even if he's a convicted bank robber, he may have only carried out this robbery because he felt he had to.
It's quite common for reformed criminals to fall back into their old habits in times of desperation.

I just find it hard to believe that at 65 he would still have ''kids'' to feed, as you would assume they would be grown-up now and not dependent on him anymore.

It also seems strange that he wouldn't have made a better effort to conceal his identity, considering he was apparently known to police already.

Still, I like the way he remembered to take his coffee at the end. I thought for one moment he was going to forget it !

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Good look up, my first thought was : this dude is to old to have some kids running around the house, not impossible but unlikely. Who knows what’s going on , but I noticed he never pointed the gun, just kept in down towards the counter.