A Louisiana woman is facing a number of charges regarding her alleged actions concerning a truck and trailer. It is claimed that the woman stole the truck and trailer around 2:30 a.m. on July 4th, refused to then pull over for authorities that were in pursuit, drove the vehicles off of the road and struck trees and a barbecue pit before ending up driving the vehicles into a lake. The trailer was reported stolen from a Louisiana business, and it was reported that the truck had been stolen back in April.
After the 27-year-old woman turned herself into law enforcement authorities, she was then charged with purported felony theft, aggravated flight and hit-and-run. Law enforcement authorities are considering bringing additional charges concerning the truck.
We don’t know why the woman was supposedly out on the road at that time during the early morning hours. Whatever the truth is concerning the allegations brought against her, she is now facing charges that could result in long-term imprisonment.
Even if the allegations are true, we would hope that this incident will not define the rest of this woman’s life. People do foolish things and then learn from their mistakes. Putting a person in prison for an alleged crime is not always the answer. Sometimes paying restitution is an adequate solution. In other circumstances, people suffering from psychological disorders need to be put into contact with mental health services.
It is not the job of criminal defense attorneys to just set people free. It is sometimes to provide resources and options for these individuals so that they can get on with their lives and not make the same mistakes again.
Source: KSLA, “In hot water: Woman jailed for driving stolen trailer into lake,” by Carolyn Roy, July 12, 2013
