USA - Police Steal Xbox From Innocent Marijuana Suspect

[chillinwill]

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The Orange County Sheriff's Office is trying to explain why a deputy walked off with someone else's Xbox following a traffic stop. The owner says he was in a car that got pulled over at Silver Star and Hiawassee roads for speeding, but instead of issuing a speeding ticket the deputy took his Xbox.

The owner showed up with the original box and receipt to claim his Xbox, but when deputies looked for it they couldn't find it in the evidence room.

Orange County deputies stopped Kenyatta Hillman and his friend on Friday afternoon for speeding. When deputies pulled them over, they searched the car because they said they smelled marijuana. They didn't find any drugs, but found an Xbox with eight games.

"He said, 'When you got your receipt and box and we'll meet someplace, you show me your receipt and I'll give you your game.' I didn't understand them," Hillman said.

The deputy ran the serial numbers and it did not come up as stolen, but he took the game system anyway. He told Hillman he wanted to make sure no one reported it stolen. Deputies told Eyewitness News there had been a lot of burglaries in the area and Xbox systems are hot.

Hillman then took his empty box and receipt to the sheriff's office to get his Xbox, but no one was able to find it.

"They said, 'We don't know what is going on. It was no arrest, no police file, no case. We can't find it,'" Hillman said.

Hillman believes he was stopped because he's poor and the because of the way he looks.

"It's probably the neighborhood. It's probably, look at me, because of my hair, the way I dressed," he said.

When Eyewitness News called the Orange County Sheriff's Office, a spokesperson said they couldn't find the gaming system because it had not yet been transferred to the evidence room.

Later, Hillman got a hold of the supervisor, Sgt. Hosey. Hillman said Hosey told him he had the system and would give it back.

"'I can't do anything this week. I'll call you Friday and I'll meet you Friday and then give you your Xbox back,'" Hilman described.

The sheriff's office said it does not believe Hillman stole the system and he is free to pick it up. The sergeant who is handling the situation said he'll give it him Friday because he is busy during the week.

Posted in Chronicle Blog
by Scott Morgan
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 11:35pm
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_...from_innocent_