Knoxville Man Found Stuck in Chimney
Unless you are Santa Claus, people probably aren’t going to take kindly to finding you stuck in their chimney. In fact, doing so will probably earn you a host of criminal charges just as it has for twenty-two year-old William Hussey of Chapel Hill, North Carolina who was found stuck in a chimney in South Knoxville early last Friday morning. There is no indication of exactly why the man decided to try to go through the chimney at around midnight on Friday but he apparently got stuck and rescue workers had to use rope to hoist him to safety. They also found his vehicle in the driveway of the home with seven cans of gasoline sitting inside. There is no word of what his plans were for the gasoline. He is charged with public intoxication, vandalism, and aggravated trespassing. Hussey told officers that it was not his intention to hurt anyone and that he was having mental issues.
Mr. Hussey may have gotten lucky in this situation because attempting to enter a house through a chimney could be considered burglary, a felony, as the Tennessee statute is written. As it stands, however, he was only charged with aggravated trespass for his act of climbing into the chimney. Depending on the circumstances, this is either a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail or a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
The fact remains in this situation that Mr. Hussey is still facing quite a bit of jail time if he is convicted on the misdemeanor charges. When Tennesseans find themselves in similar situations they should recognize that even when they are only facing misdemeanor charges, the possibility of going to jail still exists. Defendants in such circumstances should consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney who may be able to work out some sort of arrangement that keeps the defendant from spending time in jail and allows them an alternative means of punishment such as diversion, deferral, or some other form of alternative sentence.
Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=130561&catid=141
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