Man Arrested for Refusing to Show Drivers License

NMerriam writes "Michael Righi was arrested in Ohio over the weekend after refusing to show his receipt when leaving Circuit City. When the manger and 'loss prevention' employee physically prevented the vehicle he was a passenger in from leaving the parking lot, he called the police, who arrived, searched his bag and found he hadn't stolen anything. The officer then asked for Michael's driver's license, which he declined to provide since he wasn't operating a motor vehicle. The officer then arrested him, and upon finding out Michael was legally right about not having to provide a license, went ahead and charged him with 'obstructing official business' anyways."

Can't resist urge to make puns

[antifoidulus]

Maybe the man was just ARRESTED by Circuit City's low low Labor Day sale prices and considered them to be a STEAL!

Feel free to pummel this post and/or me(or add your own!)

Somewhere...

[RagingFuryBlack]

...A lawyer just smiled, from ear-to-ear.

Re:I smell something...

[Wandering Wombat]

2. The prevented him from leavening without just cause.

I hate it when stores prevent me from foaming and rising.

Re:Open and Shut Case of Police Harrasment

[harlows_monkeys]

Further the goods in that bag are now your personal property, they gave up any right to look in that bag when the transaction completed

The goods are yours, but who owns the bag? I've never seen the bag show up on the receipt, nor have I been charged for it, so presumably it is their bag, which I have possession of with their permission. I wonder if a good lawyer for a store could use this to justify searching the bag?

Re:I smell something...

[Derkec]

Maybe it was circut city passover.

Re:Circuit City and the Officer F'd up big time

[Anonymous Coward]

That was pretty funny. It sounded like, maybe a Will Farrell routine where he was making fun of dorks. I think this routine would be best done with a listhp. And, probably spoken fast, with a bit of spthittle. My favorite part was describing your ninja/Steven Segal-esque response to an "assault".

He then yanked the bag, drawing blood. Okay, he assaulted me, and I have physical proof - I now had the right to defend myself and physically disable him. I snap kicked him in the nuts, grabbed the pressure point in his wrist, and yelled for the manager

And I also like this stern talking-to to the cop, which would have gotten you laughed at in real life:

I then entered smartass mode and replied "Well, this car isn't a clown vic, is it? I regret to inform you that despite your preferences, passing zones are legal, so write me up, and then you can follow me to the station a half mile down the road and we'll have a nice long chat with your supervisor."

If you're serious, then I'm sorry.

Re:I smell something...

[jollyreaper]

2. The prevented him from leavening without just cause.

I hate it when stores prevent me from foaming and rising.

Not me, I'm happy when they stop that. It's the yeast they could do. (I hope this joke doesn't fall flat.)

Re:Somewhere...

[Anonymous Coward]

Smiled?

Thousands of lawyers (and law professors) across the country just got sexually aroused.

Re: Why they look at the dumb receipt

[PygmySurfer]

how corruptable is the loss prevention fellow...

He's probably making minimum wage, maybe slightly more, so I imagine he's not corruptible at all.

Re:I smell something...

[3.1415926535]

Ugh, that was a terrible bun, though I did loaf at it.

Re:I smell something...

[OrangeTide]

You can be held for 24 hours without being charged, then they have to let you go. Doesn't anyone here watch Law & Order?

I blew Best Buy off once

[Silver Surfer 1]

I walked right out past the line and was chased out the front door by a young man who physically tried to stop me. I did show my receipt but I tossed it on the ground and he had to chase it around a bit.
I thought it was bad form on my part but I was more upset that he tried to physically stop me, I later asked the store manager if she thought it was safe for employees to run out chasing people and she agreed it was not.
I will show my receipt but I still refuse to wait in a line to show it, they can choose to chase me out the front door.

Re:A better way...

[Anonymous Coward]

What my dad did was to let them search the (clear plastic) bag... the he says "well if you guys are going to search my bag it's only fair I should search your binder". The teenager 'inspecting' bags was holding a notebook binder to look more 'official'. My dad he grabs the binder from him, flips through it, says "yep everything looks in order here" and hands it back.

That's the proper way to handle it.

Re:I smell something...

[Anonymous Coward]

what's wheat all the puns? I mean rye oh rye? Guess I'll just roll with it, i don't have the flour to resist.

Re:Can't resist urge to make puns

[Duncan3]

Circuit Shitty now has items worth stealing? This article is clearly fictional.

Re:I smell something...

[Hao Wu]

As to blocking my car in the parking lot, that sounds pretty much like the textbook definition of unlawful detention

No, it's the definition of a new human hood-ornament for my car.

Re:Battle Won, War Lost

[spurdy]

I didn't know they shopped at Circuit City!

Re:Fry's has you covered

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

I already shop "elsewhere" it's called "NewEgg.com" and "Amazon.com" they don't ask to search my bag and their prices (including shipping) are lower.

Re:I smell something...

[clickety6]

Do we really knead this sort of thing on a Monday morning?

Re:I smell something...

[Captain Sarcastic]

...that was a terrible bun...

Well, everyone knows that a bun is the lowest form of wheat!

What the heel did you expect?

Re:I smell something...

[Cpt_Kirks]

That sign has the same force of law as a mild smelling fart.

Read up on your common law. Simply saying "we have a contract" means NOTHING.

Re:Upon entering the premises...

[Scrameustache]

That was a TERRIBLE counter-example. It fails the premise of the GP's point, which was:

erroneous

So I don't mind at all that I do not take his insane premise into account.

Re:I smell something...

[tkw954]

Until you show a receipt, the status of your merchandise (purchased or non-purchased) is unknown.

Wow, an everyday, practical example of "Schrodinger's cat".

Re:I smell something...

[WNight]

I find it amusing that stores think that blocking someone's legal exit isn't using force.

I tried that with a Girl Scout who was selling cookies. I reasoned that she was on my land (despite the no-tresspassing sign!) so I just boarded up the gate and left her there. You wouldn't believe it, but the police came and took her away. Charged me(!) with a dozen crimes.

Seriously, try that in Texas. :)

Re:Right idea, bad execution.

[DMiax]

You don't get to just tell the cop "I'm George Bush" and expect him to take your word for it.

True, you should at least tell him which one you are.

Re:I smell something...

[tombeard]

They can say "You will be search upon leaving" all they want but it doesn't make it legal. It is your property in that bag and detaining you is false arrest at best, kidnap at worst. I almost shopped at that store last Saturday but decided to go a block further to BB instead. Just as well, the confrontation would have been less pleasant since Ohio is a concealed carry state and I will defend myself.

Re:I smell something...

[brkello]

How would he know if the guy was committing a crime or not? He refused to cooperate. All the guy had to do was show his receipt and none of this would have happened. But no...he chose to be a dick. They thought the guy was stealing something. So when the cop shows up and he refuses to show identification...the cop thinks the guy is lying and arrests him. Also, we are hearing his side of things, not the cop's or the store's. It surprises me that people would want to donate money to this moron. It is clear he just likes the attention. Any normal person would just show their receipt and be happily on their way. People like this guy is annoying and are a waste of the time for the store and the police. And now he is suing...putting more money in to the pocket of lawyers...all this crap could be avoided if he wasn't such a pretentious dick.