HOLLIDAYBURG, Pa. – A central Pennsylvania man begged a judge to send him to jail, only to have the judge tell him to borrow money to repay a convenience store $214 for gasoline the man allegedly stole in six separate trips.
Forty-two-year-old Jerome Banks, of Tyrone, wanted Blair County Judge Hiram Carpenter to jail him Tuesday. Banks says he's due to receive disability payments in about a year, but for now claims he's broke and can't repay the Sheetz store in Tyrone for gas he stole last June and July.
Carpenter refused to accept Banks guilty plea and send him to jail. The judge told Banks he'd still owe the money after he got out of jail, so he might as well pay it off sooner — at which time Carpenter says he'll dismiss the charges.
The judge gave Banks until May 4 to pay.
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