A 21-year-old who pleaded guilty last week for leaving a Ware County restaurant without paying is facing jail time, his attorney says.
Brad Suites of Augusta visited a Mexican restaurant in Waycross with his girlfriend in May, but after ordering some appetizers, Suites realized he’d forgotten his wallet — and left without paying the $11.40 bill.
“He does this all the time,” attorney Kevin Gough said. “If it’s not stapled to his forehead, he loses things and he now wears a wallet chain to keep his wallet in his pants.”
While waiting on a client in court last week, Gough overheard a judge sentence Suites to 12 months of probation and a $700 fine for theft of services. To Gough, the sentencing didn’t seem to fit the crime.
Afterward, Gough said he checked in with Suites, who was in the line to register with the probation office.
Gough on Wednesday filed a motion for sentence reduction on behalf of Suites because he doesn’t believe his pro bono client can keep up with his probation payments. Suites’ costs would amount to $1,753 and roughly $49 a month when all the fees were calculated, Gough said.
Suites is a recent graduate of Georgia Military College who works part-time at a restaurant and barely gets by financially, Gough said.
“The truth is when you’re dealing with the working poor, people who are trying to establish themselves and aren’t there yet, they live paycheck to paycheck,” Gough said. “He didn’t have a ride home from court.”
The attorney doesn’t believe his client meant to dine and ditch, either. If a couple were to plan to dine and ditch, they would likely order expensive food and drinks before leaving — and likely wouldn’t leave behind ID, Gough said.
“The system should not have allowed someone who qualified for a public defender to be penalized to pay $50 a week because he’s not going to be able to do it,” Gough said. “I would bet without a reduction he’s going to end up in jail — it’s the same thing as a debtor’s prison.”
Gough expects to hear something in the next few weeks from the solicitor’s office in response to the motion for sentence reduction.
About the Author
