How to indict a ham sandwich

Prosecutors, it has been joked, can indict a ham sandwich. That really means that, if they want to get you, it won't take much to get you locked up awaiting trial.

That idea was brought home to me by a good friend called to jury duty last week. They were TRYING a young muslim who was accused of stealing a $15 sweatshirt. They suspected him of being a terrorist (he'd been going from campus to campus and hanging around muslim centers). They had no witness seeing him inside the Muslim Center at UNC, but had found some of his possessions there as it appeared he was living inside. No evidence of a break-in and no one had actually seen him there when it was locked up.

They arrested him near the center wearing a sweatshirt that was unique in that it had been available only inside the center. So, on this premise, they jailed him last May and tried him this past week. He was found guilty of misdemeanor breaking and entering, but not for stealing the $15 sweatshirt. The trial took 2 days.

Contrast this with a breaking and entering at my home while my wife and I were asleep upstairs. The thief stole my laptop and a computer scanner. I had video of him entering my car and walking to the back to try the door. It was a pretty good picture when all is said and done. I made some pictures from the video and some friends of mine recognized the guy...said that was his Modus Operandi. One of the guys said he grew up with the thief and it was clearly him. The perpetrator had recently been arrested for breaking in to a church. With the name of the suspect in hand, the detective took the pics down to the jail and interviewed the guy who swore it wasn't him. The detective said there was a resemblance, but didn't think it was the same guy.

So, a serious crime like breaking/entering/theft/after 11pm/occupied building is simply swept under the rug because they have actual evidence, but it must not be as good as an eyewitness id. Case closed....while the DA pursues ^&*() like the above.

Also, contrast their choice of what to prosecute with the case in which a Durham Policewoman (Ruth Brown) was held up in her home. She was robbed of $3000 cash (not exactly sure why she had that kind of $ on hand, but I have some ideas). She ID's a 15 year old middle school student by recognizing his "eyebrows" in a school picture. The robber had on a mask, so she couldn't see anything else except his eyebrows and hair which was in a completely different style than the kid who was ultimately convicted.

So, we have another ham sandwich held in jail, then put away until some independent folks began asking questions. Several years later, he's freed.

This kind of thing makes me ashamed to be a Durhamite at times. You don't want to be the next ham sandwich.