Child taken by protective services and parents jailed after the couple forgot to pay for 2 sandwiches
Posted: 11.03.2011 at 4:30 AM
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HONOLULU -- A pregnant woman and her husband were jailed and their 2-year-old placed in protective custody after she forgot to pay for two sandwiches.

Yahoo News reports Nicole and Marcin Leszcynski had just moved to Hawaii and went to a grocery store to stock up on food.  They took a bus, got lost, and ended up at a Safeway Supermarket.  Nicole says they were very hungry when they arrived and so her husband picked up a couple sandwiches, which in total cost $5.  The couple ate the sandwiches while shopping, intending to pay for them at the checkout with the rest of their groceries.

However, the article says they forgot to pay for the snacks and were then stopped by a security guard.   Yahoo News says they were placed in a security room for four hours until police arrived and red them their rights.  A Child Welfare Services employee then arrived to take away their toddler. The couple was then taken in separate vehicles to the police station where they were released after posting bail, but their child wasn’t returned until 18-hours after the incident. 

Read more
Safeway drops theft charges 
Video: Nicole talks about the horrifying experience 
Two chicken sandwiches land parents in jail, toddler in protective custody 

The Huffington Post reports that Safeway Supermarkets has decided not to press charges against the couple.   

Nicole did an interview with Yahoo News. You can watch it and read their full report by clicking here.

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