Virginia Jury Convicts Pregnant woman of Stealing, Then Pays Her Fine

[Tennis]

The trial seemed utterly ordinary. A 19-year-old maid swiped a woman's three rings - worth at least $5,000 - from a house she was cleaning in Fairfax City, Virginia, but later returned them after police questioned her. She was charged with felony grand larceny.

What the jury did was extraordinary. They felt bad for the young woman, pregnant with her second child, and agreed that she had made a dumb, youthful mistake. Reluctantly, they convicted her of the felony. But the fine they imposed was her daily pay as a maid, $60. And then they took up a collection and gave her the money to pay the fine.


"The general sentiment was she was a victim, too," said the jury foreman, Jeffery Memmott. "Two of the women [jurors] were crying because of how bad they felt. One lady pulled out a $20 bill, and just about everybody chipped in." Memmott then contacted the public defender in the case and went to the home of Sandra Mendez Ortega. He gave her the jury's collection, which totalled $80.

"Justice had to be done," said another juror, Janice Woolridge, explaining why the panel imposed a felony conviction. "But there's also got be some compassion somewhere. Young people make bad decisions. We just couldn't pile on any more."

The two-day trial was held in July, but the sentencing was last Friday before Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Robert Smith. Mendez Ortega's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Cash, asked the judge to defer the case and not enter a conviction or sentence in light of the defendant's actions and the jury's response. Smith declined, entered the conviction and imposed the $60 fine. Numerous veteran criminal lawyers, on both the prosecution and defence sides, said they had never heard of a case where a jury paid a defendant's fine.

A happy holiday story, right? Well, what if you're the woman whose rings were stolen? Although she was not pleased when the jury returned from their deliberations with only a $60 fine for the felony conviction, crime victim Lisa Copeland was appalled when she learned that the jury had also paid the fine.

"I just pray that they're never in my shoes," Copeland said. She said Mendez Ortega never accepted responsibility for the theft. "If she had accepted accountability, I would be OK with all of this. The fact that she won't accept accountability makes it wrong."

Copeland said Mendez Ortega told a series of lies from the start and then unfurled a tragic life story that persuaded the jury to impose the $60 fine. "I was outraged," Copeland said. "I was just flabbergasted. I didn't think $60 equated to the crime at all." She did not know that the jury had taken up a collection for Mendez Ortega until she was contacted by a reporter.

The case began in September 2016, when Copeland discovered that her engagement and wedding rings were missing from the container where they were usually kept. The engagement ring had been her grandmother's, made in 1943, and the two rings were appraised at $5,000 in 1996, Copeland said. Copeland didn't realise that a third, inexpensive ring had been taken until it was turned in.

Fairfax City police investigated and interviewed the three women who had cleaned the home. All three denied taking or seeing the rings, court records show, and no one was charged.

But after the interviews, Mendez Ortega reportedly felt bad about the theft, admitted to her boss that she had the rings and turned them over to him. The police were contacted and Mendez Ortega confessed to them as well, saying she returned the rings after learning that they were valuable. The police had her write a letter of apology to Copeland, in Spanish, which said in part, "Sorry for grabbing the rings. I don't know what happened. I want you to forgive me."

Copeland said she has never seen that letter and that Mendez Ortega has never apologised to her in person. "Never saw it," Copeland said. "Never heard about it until the trial, during sentencing."

After Mendez Ortega was arrested, she spent eight days in jail until she was released on $1,000 bond. The jury was not told that. The jury also was not told that Mendez Ortega apparently is not in the country legally, as Copeland said she was told by prosecutors, because it was not relevant to whether she stole the rings. "I think it's relevant to the case," Copeland said. She said the penalties of a felony conviction, such as not being able to vote or buy a gun, would not be actions available to an immigrant in the country illegally anyway.

"It really irritates me that she came here and committed a felony," said Jeff Copeland, Lisa Copeland's husband. "People are coming here because there is opportunity here. But when they come here and commit crimes, that's where you've got to draw the line."

At trial, the facts were not really in dispute. The jury did not hear from Mendez Ortega during the case in chief, but they were already sympathetic to her. "We didn't feel she should have been tried and convicted," said Memmott, the foreman. "We tried every way we could to find some way of not convicting her. But the legal standard was very clear." Two other jurors agreed that the felony conviction was appropriate, given the facts and the law.

Lisa Copeland was amazed. "The fact that she confessed," she said, "and they didn't want to convict her? I don't get this. That's basically saying it's OK to steal."

During the sentencing phase, Mendez Ortega took the stand. She faced a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. She told the jury she had dropped out of school after sixth grade, that she first became pregnant at 15 and that she was pregnant again at 19 and had no job, according to court records.

"The whole time, she was telling the sob story," Lisa Copeland said, "I looked at my husband and said, 'I've heard enough of this.'” She noted that after Mendez Ortega took the rings, "she lied to the cops, she lied to her employers. She didn't turn in the rings - she made somebody else do it. She confessed but claimed that the rings were in the bathroom. And then she tried to blame her boss."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a8115071.html

Wow! What a story.

19 is kind of young to be having her 2nd child but I suppose this is a consequence of her rough life. Is she married? Where is the father in all of this.

Also, the boss seems like a real piece of work. Show some compassion lady. No need to ruin the young worker's life over a couple of rings.

Hopefully everyone learns a lesson from this.

What do you think?

[Noogai131]

I think somebody got caught and told a sob story to get off lightly and didn't even face any real consequences for her actions.

This society is horseshit. Either pussy handed shit like this is done, or innocent people are thrown under the bus and subjected to misery because the majority want their blood over false allegations of ANY kind.

I want to leave this planet.

[Raptor With a Saber]

Thats bs she should be locked up kids taken away and placed with foster care where they will grow up and become criminals and underage parents and fuck up more lives.
How dare that jury do something good.

[Jtbrig7390]

Only lesson that needs to be learned here is the justice system is fucked up.

The girl should have been jailed and kids taken away, She stole $5,000 worth of rings and got away with it. She told some shit sob story and the jury fell for it.

[Mister Cheese]

Tennis I found you a new profile picture!

[Socialhealer]

Only lesson that needs to be learned here is the justice system is fucked up.

The girl should have been jailed and kids taken away, She stole $5,000 worth of rings and got away with it. She told some shit sob story and the jury fell for it.

the jury just had more compassion than you and care for other humans, i mean really you want to ruin a family over 5000$ rings that were in the end returned?

while big corporations avoid billions in taxes around the world, we should ruin families over 5000$.

[Teevo]

Deport her.

[Deleted]

So an illigal immergrent stole some items and when questioned lied. And days later returned them? got then arrested, mabey wrote a letter? and then the jury feels sorry for her and she only had to pay 60 dollars worth of a fine, which then got paid by the jury.

Only in the us of A

She should hav been deported. And if not given a bit harder slap on the wrist, for stealing and then lieing to the law. guilt feelings or not. she even made 20 bucks! (60 dollar fine and 80 dollar collection = 20 dollars remaining) again WTF!

And read the last 3 lines.. wow!

[slackjawsix]

Thats bs she should be locked up kids taken away and placed with foster care where they will grow up and become criminals and underage parents and fuck up more lives.
How dare that jury do something good.

Yeah and the woman should also be spayed so she cant have anymore kids. This story makes me sick!

inb4 angry neckbeard nerds are upset someone sorry for their small crime isnt having their life ruined

[Nihilist74]

The victim of the crime could afford expensive jewelry, and she could afford to hire a maid. I really don't feel bad about the poor stealing from the rich. God knows the rich have stolen plenty from everybody else.

[Kithelle]

So an illigal immergrent stole some items and when questioned lied. And days later returned them? got then arrested, mabey wrote a letter? and then the jury feels sorry for her and she only had to pay 60 dollars worth of a fine, which then got paid by the jury.

Only in the us of A

She should hav been deported. And if not given a bit harder slap on the wrist, for stealing and then lieing to the law. guilt feelings or not. she even made 20 bucks! (60 dollar fine and 80 dollar collection = 20 dollars remaining) again WTF!

And read the last 3 lines.. wow!

Pretty much unfortunately...another sexist post from Tennis.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah and the woman should also be spayed so she cant have anymore kids. This story makes me sick!

inb4 angry neckbeard nerds are upset someone sorry for their small crime isnt having their life ruined

Small crime? If I stole 5g's in stuff I'd be spending a decade in jail...she manipulated the jury and they bought it hook, line, and sinker.

If she is really so poor and down on her luck...maybe keep her fucking legs shut? But no can't be bothers with taking any responsibility when we just want to do something that feels good!

[Celista]

I don't think we should condone stealing, but I do think we should condone forgiveness for those who make hard/bad decisions due to poverty, and condemn the myriad of sociopolitical factors that contribute to poverty in the first place.

[chrisnumbers]

If she was ever going to do something besides being a maid for life, that path is gone since she is now a felon.
I have no sympathy for thieves so it's too bad the cry baby jurors had to pay her fine.

[Kithelle]

The victim of the crime could afford expensive jewelry, and she could afford to hire a maid. I really don't feel bad about the poor stealing from the rich. God knows the rich have stolen plenty from everybody else.

So basically you're saying you have no problem with breaking the law...say...can I have your address? I'm currently unemployed while trying to set up a website for a business...I could use a few extra dollars to get me through the holidays! Since you obviously have no problems breaking the law you wouldn't mind if I took a few things to pawn!

[Nihilist74]

I know not to hire you for a maid!

[Tennis]

Only lesson that needs to be learned here is the justice system is fucked up.

The girl should have been jailed and kids taken away, She stole $5,000 worth of rings and got away with it. She told some shit sob story and the jury fell for it.

That's not how it works. There's a time for harsh sentencing and there's a time for leniency and compassion. I suggest you take an ethics course.

[cparle87]

Also, the boss seems like a real piece of work. Show some compassion lady. No need to ruin the young worker's life over a couple of rings.

The boss was already showing her compassion by hiring her when they were likely better choices out there to choose from. And in return for her compassion she has a family heirloom worth thousands stolen by a person she trusted to be let into her home.

[Xar226]

She's still a convicted felon. The jury really didn't do her any favors.

That said, if she is here illegally and a felon then she should be deported.

[cparle87]

Yeah and the woman should also be spayed so she cant have anymore kids. This story makes me sick!

inb4 angry neckbeard nerds are upset someone sorry for their small crime isnt having their life ruined

Considering the rings were worth 5,000 dollars she was charged with grand larceny, which is a felony. Small crime =/= felony.

[Orlong]

If she was ever going to do something besides being a maid for life, that path is gone since she is now a felon.
I have no sympathy for thieves so it's too bad the cry baby jurors had to pay her fine.

She should have had her ass deported to where she came from. Then her US felony wont affect her