76-Year-Old Woman Arrested after Caught Grabbing $100 Bill off the Floor
“See a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck,” I remember singing as a child. Indeed, there are few things more satisfying than finding money.
Usually, the money we find was already ours — my favorite part of doing laundry is finding out how much money I’ll “make” doing it.
Finding money that someone else lost, however, is like striking the lotto.
A woman in Warwick, Rhode Island, dropped $100 bill whilst shopping Nov. 3, 2017. She did not immediately notice her loss.
Another woman, however, did. Now she’s known as 2017 Grandmother of the Year — for all the wrong reasons.
Instead of being applauded for her baking abilities or the special bond she has with her grandchildren, 76-year-old Dorothy Andrade was arrested for larceny.
Larceny is the theft of another’s personal belongings. Andrade saw the woman’s mistake, walked over, picked up the bill, and put it in her purse — all caught on tape.
A nearby boy who may have been with Andrade saw her pocket the bill. Shockingly, Andrade put her hand to her mouth in a “shhhh” motion.
The boy turned, looking in the direction of the woman who’d dropped the bill. He was visibly shocked.
Warwick Police Department turned to social media to identify and locate the grey-haired thief. The initial response was mixed.
On the one side, people saw this situation as an unfortunate case of “finders-keepers.” On the other side, commenters were disappointed in the example she set for the boy.
Rhode Island law, however, considered this a clear case of larceny.
Andrade saw who the money belonged to, therefore it was her responsibility to give the money back.
There would be no case if Andrade had come across the money moments later with no one around. By her actions following the pick-up, even she knew her actions were out-of-bounds.
While Andrade made a poor choice and set a lousy example, perhaps her arrest can be the real teachable moment for the presumed grandchild. When in doubt, always look to do the right thing.
Sometimes doing the right thing is optional. In this case, failing to has gotten this grandmother some serious consequences.
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