Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Bell-ringers from the Salvation Army are synonymous with Christmas and one can find them in front of virtually any major storefront this time of year, donating their time and effort in an attempt to raise money to help the less fortunate. Apparently one of the less fortunate decided to help themselves last Saturday evening, to the money that is. A 44 year-old man named Shawn Krieger of Toledo, Ohio pushed a Salvation Army bell-ringer down last Saturday and absconded with her kettle of donations. The man, obviously filled to the brim with the holiday spirit, remarked “I can’t stand you and your bell-ringing. I hate Christmas,” before getting away with an estimated $500. He was later arrested and charged with robbery.

While there is nothing illegal about not being in the Christmas spirit, there is something very illegal about robbery. Robbery in Tennessee is defined as “the intentional or knowing theft of property from the person of another by violence or putting the person in fear.” Clearly the man’s thievery of the Salvation Army’s money kettle would apply since he pushed the bell-ringer to the ground before taking her kettle. Robbery is a Class C felony in Tennessee, punishable by three to fifteen years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Robbery committed under the circumstances described above may also subject the offender to receiving a stocking full of coal.