There are crazy dumb people out there, and yes, I think most of them live in Florida. Growing up in new England it seemed all the odd stories came from the sunshine state. And now that I live here, it seems I am being tagged by family members in two or three stories a week that deal with "only in Florida" criminals. Here's another such story. Click on the pic below or here to watch the video report from the Sun Sentinel.
If anyone understands the concept of Uber, you would know that there is no transfer of physical money. But there is the issue of the robber allegedly using HIV as his weapon.
Lora, in his black Toyota, made a pit stop outside a 7-Eleven in Boca Raton. He was waiting for a female passenger he had driven there to return from buying something inside the store, at 831 E. Palmetto Park Road.
That's when the robber opened Lora's unlocked passenger door, got into the passenger seat, pulled out a syringe and told Lora he'd be injected with HIV if he didn't start driving, police said.
The driver, fearing an injection, began driving west on East Palmetto Park Road, police said. A few blocks away from the store, in the 500 block of Palmetto, the robber told him to make a U-turn and head back east.
Once back in the 800 block of Palmetto, the assailant told the driver to pull over.
Still holding the syringe, the robber told Lora to hand over his phone and wallet. The robber then ran away from the car, taking Lora's phone and wallet with him. – sun-sentinel.com
Or thoughts go out to Lora and hope he as a good support staff to help him deal with being robbed.
But what should be done with the robber? What should he be charged with?
Officers arrested Francis on charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and attempted criminal transmission of HIV, according to the affidavit.
It will be up to a court to order a test of the syringe to determine what was in it, police spokesman Mark Economou said. The result of the test would be shielded under medical privacy laws, he said.
While in custody, Francis acknowledged he had been using heroin, among other drugs, throughout the day and before the robbery. He first was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and then to jail, where he remained Tuesday, records show. – sun-sentinel.com
Should HIV be classified as a deadly weapon? And if there is no HIV found in the syringe, should the charge stay?
h/t: sun-sentinel.com