commentary by Patrick H. Moore
“It is hard to argue with the fact that everyone loves a good plate of barbeque ribs…and deep down in the heart of Texas, good ribs are like good religion. Many a vegetarian has been tempted and has ultimately fallen off the wagon when confronted with a big ole, juicy rack of ribs,” say PJ Fielder of OddCrimes.
In keeping with Mr. Fielder’s theory, I remember watching my brother-in-law, Cap’n America, devour a huge plate of ribs with great glee and gusto in Northern California many long years ago. As the Cap’n scarfed down the ribs, an oily sheen erupted on his forehead which caused him to wipe his forehead repeatedly with a greasy napkin with one hand while continuing to shovel the ribs into his mouth with the other.
One major difference between Cap’n America and 43-year-old Willie Smith Ward of Waco, Texas is that the Cap’n is a doctor of internal medicine and can afford enough barbecued pork ribs, should he so desire, to send him into cardiac arrest everyday of the week and twice on Sundays. Willie Smith Ward, on the other hand, has very little money and a long record of felonies including convictions for burglary, attempted robbery, aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident and possession of cocaine.
Thus, Mr. Smith was taking a big chance in September of 2011 when he allegedly tucked a large rack of ribs under his shirt and tried to leave the H-E-B store at 1102 Speight Ave. without paying. Mr. Ward was confronted in the parking lot by an H-E-B employee who detected a conspicuous bulge under his shirt.
At Mr. Ward’s trial, the employee testified that he asked Ward what was under the shirt, at which point the slab of ribs fell to the ground. The employee testified that he asked Ward what else he was hiding, at which point Mr. Ward said, “I got a knife.”
The employee, who apparently possesses some legal knowledge, then told Ward, “Now you just turned a ticket into a serious crime.”
According to the employee’s testimony, Ward then said, “If you don’t leave me alone, I’ll show you what I got.” After that, according to the employee, Ward ran away.
Inasmuch as there do not appear to have been any other witnesses, it was apparently the employee’s word versus Mr. Ward’s. It does not appear — or at least there is no evidence suggesting — that the employee ever saw the knife. Thus, we are not certain that Mr. Smith even had a knife.
The jury in Waco’s 19th State District Court, which was clearly swayed by Mr. Ward’s many prior convictions, appears to have believed the H-E-B store employee’s testimony. It recommended that Ward be sentenced to 50 years in prison as a habitual criminal.
Strangely, the jurors only took took two minutes to convict Ward on robbery charges while they dedicated an hour of there valuable time to decide his punishment.
One of the prosecutors, Assistant District Attorney J.R. Vicha, appears to have been thrilled by the outcome:
“This verdict shows that the citizens of this county will not tolerate a continued disrespect and disregard for other people and their property. People who choose to do so will be dealt with seriously and appropriately.”
Yep, that’s the game, my friends: “Life, liberty and the pursuit of property.” The words “pursuit of happiness” were substituted for “pursuit of property” in the Declaration of Independence because our founding fathers apparently felt that “pursuit of property” sounded too tacky. But nonetheless, that’s what the game is really all about.
Mr. Ward will have to serve at least a quarter of his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.
A court official said Ward rejected a 20-year prison sentence in a plea offer from prosecutors before trial.
In its article on Mr. Ward’s case, the Huffington Post quotes the Houston Press, who offered this particularly crass analysis:
“In short, it seems that Ward has something of a criminal history that probably had at least as much weight with the jury as the theft of those particular pork slabs of deliciousness, explaining the sentence. But still, here’s hoping he did enjoy those ribs and that they came out succulent and delicious with either a dry rub or a really fine barbecue sauce. If he serves the entire sentence, each year of his life will be worth a $.70 of those ribs.”
The H-E-B grocery store on 1102 Speight Ave., which is where Mr. Ward was arrested, closed its doors for good in August of 2013. In their place, the H-E-B folks are opening an H-E-B- Plus store which is located at 1821 South Valley Mills Dr. in Waco.
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It costs around $30,000 a year to keep inmates like Mr. Ward incarcerated. Thus, if he serves 12 years and is then paroled (which is a big if), keeping this “rib thief” locked up for somewhat over a decade will cost society approximately $360,000. If he is required to serve the full 50 years, Mr. Ward’s tab will run a cool $1.5 million.
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Each and every day I thank my lucky stars that I am not yet indigent. Keep the wolf away from your door, my friends, if you possibly can. There are few things worse in America than being poor.