Legal Juice
You’re out for a bike ride, with a backpack full of tools. Is that a crime? Apparently it can be. As reported by The St. Petersburg Times:
Kurtis Martin was riding his bicycle Sunday night with no headlight, in an area hit by recent burglaries, with an open backpack full of tools, Pasco deputies said.
When a deputy pulled Martin over, he found the backpack contained several screwdrivers, a claw hammer, pliers, wire cutters and a machete, according to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report. The deputy asked what the tools were for.
You have to give this man credit for being honest, some of which you can deduct for failing to know about his right to not incriminate himself.
“I hadn’t stolen anything tonight,” replied Martin, according to the report. “I had the tools with me in case the opportunity arose. I was only scouting the area.”
Doh!
Martin, 36, of Lacoochee, was arrested on suspicion of possessing burglary tools. He remained in the county jail Monday afternoon in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Not being a criminal lawyer, The Juice did not know this was a crime. Did you? Here’s the source.