DURHAM, NC -- Durham Herald-Sun, July 17, 2008
Deferred-prosecution deal for college iPod scammer
By John Stevenson
A deferred-prosecution deal has been granted to a college student accused of devising what court observers called a creative but less-than-brilliant iPod scam. Approved by district attorneys in Durham and Raleigh, the deal will allow N.C. State engineering freshman Max Myrick to avoid a criminal record if he performs some 200 hours of unpaid community service work and stays out of trouble between now and May 8, 2009. If he doesn't, he faces the probability of full prosecution.
He had been accused of buying iPods at area Target stores, pocketing the electronic devices, returning the empty boxes for a refund and then trying to sell the equipment through an Internet site. Myrick was caught when he took one of the empty containers to a Target in Durham. A roll of pennies had been taped inside the box to give it weight and make it feel like the iPod was still there. After that, N.C. State police searched Myrick's dorm room in late March and seized 10 iPods.
A deferred-prosecution deal for Myrick was approved by Durham District Attorney David Saacks and his counterpart in Wake County, Colon Willoughby. Saacks said Wednesday that such deals are "more frequent than rare," and that Myrick received no special treatment. In fact, almost anyone accused of a low-level, nonviolent felony is eligible if he or she has no previous criminal record, according to Saacks.
To get deferred prosecution, suspects must admit responsibility for the crimes in question.
"We can use that against them if we need to," said Saacks. "If they don't live up to their end of the bargain, they go back to square one and get prosecuted."
Durham defense lawyer Kerry Sutton predicted Myrick will do fine. "From what I understand, he is spending all day -- every day -- performing community service work," she said. "He is extremely grateful to have a chance to prove he is a better person than the charges against him indicated."
John Fitzpatrick, president of the Durham Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, described deferred prosecution Wednesday as "a great concept." "This gives people a chance to right their wrongs without having a lifelong blemish on their records," said Fitzpatrick, who had nothing to do with the Myrick case. "It's like redemption. It puts a carrot at the end of the stick. You've got to earn the carrot. If you do, everybody wins in the long run."
