The power of social media is sometimes scary. Take for instance the case of 34 y/o Amber Stephenson, of Beech Grove, Indiana, who's mug shot is pictured below.
On June 4th, 2015, in the shampoo aisle at Walmart, Amber, accompanied by her six (6) y/o son, got into a scrap with another woman, namely 39 y/o Rebecca Mills. The reasons for the woman on woman brawl are irrelevant to this blog post (but for those of you nosy folks who just have to know apparently Rebecca was having words with a store employee which Amber overheard and then Amber chose to involve herself in the heated discussion, prompting the other woman and Amber to go at it - in the words of the prosecution spokesperson it was a "mutually combative situation" - and the reason that this is irrelevant is because when the cops were summoned to the scene it was also their opinion that the two adult women had engaged in a consensual battle with no one being injured... in fact, when cops watched the video footage - which had been shot by another customer, responding cops reportedly laughed... you can see the video footage here) but what is relevant is that Amber was arrested within days of the video going viral on YouTube. Here are some still photo's from the video footage.
On June 4th, 2015, in the shampoo aisle at Walmart, Amber, accompanied by her six (6) y/o son, got into a scrap with another woman, namely 39 y/o Rebecca Mills. The reasons for the woman on woman brawl are irrelevant to this blog post (but for those of you nosy folks who just have to know apparently Rebecca was having words with a store employee which Amber overheard and then Amber chose to involve herself in the heated discussion, prompting the other woman and Amber to go at it - in the words of the prosecution spokesperson it was a "mutually combative situation" - and the reason that this is irrelevant is because when the cops were summoned to the scene it was also their opinion that the two adult women had engaged in a consensual battle with no one being injured... in fact, when cops watched the video footage - which had been shot by another customer, responding cops reportedly laughed... you can see the video footage here) but what is relevant is that Amber was arrested within days of the video going viral on YouTube. Here are some still photo's from the video footage.
What is not shown in the still clips, and what the responding officers failed to notice, but what is also responsible for the viral nature of the video, is Amber's six (6) y/o sons' involvement in the melee. While the two (2) "adult" women lunged at each other and were scrapping on the ground, and as witnesses were shouting at them to stop, Amber's son got involved by throwing shampoo bottles at the Rebecca, the woman who was pinned down by his mother. Amber is clearly heard during the video screaming "Johnny, punch her in the face! Johnny, punch her in her f*cking face!"... and, not surprisingly, the boy does as his mother instructed. It is this tidbit that prompted the Indiana prosecutors' concern for the "safety and welfare of the child".
Apparently Indiana's neglect law includes a prohibition against behavior that "places the dependent in a situation that endangers the dependent's life or health" and Amber has now been formally charged with both neglect of a dependent and with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for her son's role in the brawl (the charging document can be seen here). The neglect of a dependent charge is a class 6 felony punishable by up to two and a half years in prison and a $10,000 fine while the contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a misdemeanor offense. Prosecutors declined to charge either woman with fighting saying that they would not choose sides in what appeared to be "a mutually combative situation." The video of the altercation was uploaded to YouTube on Monday, June 8th, 2015 and had more than 1.5 million views within a day (and, again, can be viewed here). Per Beech Grove Police Maj. Tom Hurrle: "It was an avoidable fight between two females that should've known better, in front of a six-year-old boy. I worry for the future of this young man, too, if he's already like that as a six-year-old." Amber, on the other hand, is wholly unconcerned, having given a subsequent radio interview (which you can hear here) wherein she opined that her son is "a little crazy kid who loves taking martial arts classes", and here is the little karate kid in the flesh...
In the radio interview Amber added that "I don't have to worry about him ever being bullied in high school", and in answering questions over her son's well-being and attitude Amber added that "my son has been a straight-A, honor roll student all year... He's a teacher's pet. He's in a Christian private school." Amber insisted that her son is "perfectly well taken care of" and pointed out that he has "a large amount of shoes in his closet". Okay then.....
Memo to Amber: Next time A) Remember that there is a world of truth to the saying that no good deed goes unpunished. Had you simply minded your own business then you would not have gotten arrested and your precious little straight-A, karate-kicking-in-the-face-angel would not be the subject of a DCF proceeding and B) When you get arrested DO NOT (caps intentional) go on the radio and give an interview. Instead STFU, talk to no one but your lawyer and then let your lawyer decide if, when and under what circumstances any statements should be made about the case. As is typical with such situations, your self-serving statements are almost certain to prove to be not nearly as self-serving as you think that they will be. Not withstanding your claims to fame, you, Amber, could be next month's "Sh*t Parenting" cover girl...
Memo to the Folks: I said it before and I'll say it again... "The power of social media is sometimes scary." Please remember Haber's Rules of Social Media # 1-5 (which you can view here)...
For more than 23 years Michael A. Haber, P.A. has been providing creative, effective and zealous advocacy and counsel in cases ranging from DUI to drug trafficking and from misdemeanors to first degree murder.
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THIS BLOG POST (AS ARE ALL OF HABERPA BLOG POSTS) IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT WHICH IS PRIMARILY DESIGNED, BY WAY OF REAL WORLD EXAMPLE, TO ASSIST THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN AVOIDING CONDUCT WHICH COULD FORESEEABLY RESULT IN ARREST AND PROSECUTION!
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