Sometimes a mistake is simply a mistake

We When is someone a Good Samaritan and when is he or she an interfering troublemaker?

How is that person to know, when a situation isn’t clear?

Such a dilemma has ensnared 33-year old Liberty Lake resident Scott E. Hughes, causing him public embarrassment and significant legal problems, including an arrest, a night in jail and pending charges.

On June 6, Hughes, father of three, unknowingly interfered with youthful Valley Wal-Mart plainclothes security guards James Biehl and Theresa Jones while they were in the parking lot attempting to apprehend a young female suspected of shoplifting. Hughes, believing an assault was in progress, separated Biehl and the suspected shoplifter.

“I thought it was a boyfriend and girlfriend beating up on an ex-girlfriend,” Hughes said, in a June 20 Spokesman-Review article. He only realized his mistake after Biehl finally showed an ID after repeated requests. The suspected shoplifter fled by car, knocking Jones down; Jones suffered a fractured skull.

Hughes was appalled to discover his mistake; he thought he was doing the right thing in preventing a crime, rather than aiding one.

No charges have yet been filed, but in the newspaper article Spokane Valley Police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said, “We’re going to pursue those charges aggressively. It’ll happen, I just can’t give a timeline.”

Hughes intends to fight any charges. Even Spokane Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza, who signed Hughes’ arrest warrant, said he’s not sure charges will be pursued. Reagan said in the article that the investigation lacked high priority because of an ongoing homicide investigation, so Hughes could be in limbo for quite a while.

This story should send a chill down the spine of every one of us who is moved to help a stranger in distress.

Who wants to end up in jail, pay self-protective legal fees and face prosecution for “doing the right thing”?

Who among us could have better distinguished what was really happening at Wal-Mart? Too often we read a front page story of a victim unaided by apathetic bystanders, who are then publicly scorned.

In our community people take the concept of “neighbor” seriously, aiding those in distress, or preventing or stopping a crime. We consider such people courageous examples of good citizenship. They’re heroes. This is what the Our Kids: Our Business campaign is working to promote.

Sometimes a mistake is just a mistake. Why punish a man with good intent, who tried to aid someone he perceived as being attacked?

In a remarkable twist, on July 1, Hughes and his wife, Sadie, led police to the 18-year old alleged shoplifter, Michelle L. McGlynn-Bell. The couple, determined to locate the suspect, had been searching two areas. Sadie Hughes realized the alleged shoplifter’s car was in front of her, called her husband and 911, and police eventually made an arrest.

“We feel really good about that,” said Hughes in a July 4 article. Well, yeah. “We’re not vigilantes,” he said. “We’re just looking out for other people. It was a terrible situation, and I was trying to make it as right as I could.”

Too bad the police don’t feel the same. They intend to forward the investigation of the initial incident to the prosecutor’s office. Reagan said, “The facts of this case are going to bear out.”

I’m not a police-basher. I have a ton of respect for and gratitude toward those who face danger every day for my sake. But … come on.

Hughes made an honest error. And Jones’ injury is an awful consequence. But prosecuting him sends a poor message to all of us.

In different circumstances, Hughes would be receiving plaudits and gratitude, maybe an award. Instead, his experience has become a cautionary tale – don’t get involved unless you understand, instantly and completely, exactly what is happening and who the players are. This, of course, may be too late to save a life.

Sadly, Hughes said in the June 20 story (and who can blame him?), “I am certainly going to be a heck of a lot more careful about getting involved in the future.”

What a shame.

A Good Samaritan has learned to look the other way.

Maybe we all have.