Justice to Prevail

On 04 February, we wrote about a 74 year old Minnesota farmer who chased down a gasoline thief and ended up facing felony charges for doing what we hope decent citizens everywhere would do - namely, get involved.

Well according to this Sun Times article, the felonies have been downgraded to two misdemeanors AND the thief (who pled guilty) is defending the farmer for doing the right thing and offered to help in any way possible:

• CAMBRIDGE, Minn. -- A man pleading guilty to stealing gas and a car radiator offered support for the retired farmer who was charged with threatening him with a shotgun.
• Englund chased [Christian Smith and an accomplice] while calling the sheriff's office on a cell phone. After the vehicles stopped and a deputy sheriff arrived, Englund's shotgun was found to be unloaded, according to police.
• ''I don't think he should be held responsible," Smith said. "I committed a crime and, you know, he did what he probably thought was right.''

As good as it is to see this 74 year old farmer chasing down a thief, it's amazing to see the thief step up and take responsibility for his actions. And it's even more gratifying to see this goofy sheriff who originally approved these charges back pedalling so fast he's leaving skidmarks.