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Jury Acquits Man of Stealing 99-Cent Hot Dog

By Adam Ramirez on May 02, 2011 | Last updated on February 06, 2023

At times, that motion for summary judgment must seem rather petty. But you muscle through it, knowing the case will likely never go before a jury. But how about the case of the stolen hot dog? It actually did go to trial. And a befuddled jury in Cheney, Washington had to go through the motions of acquitting a man who was accused of stealing a "bronze" German sausage from a local grocery store. What other kinds of things are juries deciding upon in the state of Washington? The acquitted defendant he wasn't a hot dog thief, and they believed him. In December, John Richardson was moseying through Mitchell's IGA, picking up fixings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, reports The Spokesman-Review. Before he got down to business, he stopped at the self-serve counter and loaded up a 99 cent German sausage. According to the paper, he ate the dog while he did his shopping. After paying for $28 worth of groceries, the paper then reports that John Richardson left the store, forgetting to pay for his meat. That's when store managers approached him and accused him of being a hot dog thief. Even though he offered to pay the 99 cents, employees called the police. And then the city of Cheney, Washington had to pay for an entire trial. Local prosecutors offered Richardson a deal--to pay $200 to Mitchell's IGA--but he refused, reports the paper. After 5 minutes of deliberation, the jury decided that John Richardson is not a hot dog thief under Washington law. Uh, ya think? Related Resource:
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