BOSTON - The winner of a $1 million lottery scratch ticket may not be so lucky after all: He's a convicted bank robber who isn't supposed to gamble. Timothy Elliott faces a Dec. 7 court hearing over whether he violated his probation when he bought the $10 ticket for the $800 Million Spectacular game at a supermarket in Hyannis.
Elliott was placed on five years' probation after pleading guilty in October 2006 to unarmed robbery for a January 2006 heist at a bank on Cape Cod. Under terms of his probation, he "may not gamble, purchase lottery tickets or visit an establishment where gaming is conducted, including restaurants where Keno may be played."
2007-11-29 01:52:08 · 16 answers · asked by zil28ennov 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
He should pay the fine for his crime and keep the rest.For instance, if the fine for gabling would have been 150 bucks, then they should fine him 150 and give him the rest. If it was 6 months in jail, put him back in jail for 6 months and let him out.
Either way, he should keep the money. Why? Because if he had been caught gambling and had LOST a thousand bucks, the state wouldnt be giving it back to him to bring everything back to where it was before he started gambling. So, they shouldnt be taking away anything either.
2007-11-29 01:58:51 · answer #1 · answered by Andrew 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I just read this article, and I think he should and here is why.
OK, so he violated probation...big deal. Treat this like any other probation violation, put him in jail a few nights and that's it. Is the state going to get to keep his money? It did not seem to be a big deal when he was losing his money playing the lottery.
He is not the first person to violate probation, and he certainly won't be the last. Let him keep the money.
I say this because I work in the business of people who tend to violate probation, you are not even allowed to get a traffic citation, and in some cases a violation does not mean more time in the pokey, they may extend your probation for 6 more months. So, the fact he won the lottery should not be considered, the only thing that needs to be considered is the punishment he gets for violating his parole. Again, the State had no problem taking his money, but now they look stupid because a convicted bank robber won the lottery.
2007-11-29 10:04:24 · answer #2 · answered by Colonel 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Obviously he is not too smart, he could have had someone else cash in the ticket. Oh wait...no honor among thieves, he probably didn't trust any of his friends.
I am pretty sure he was ordered to pay restitution to the bank at the time of his sentencing (if not, the Judge was not doing a good job) so the money probably automatically goes to that judgment.
There was recently a story about a sex offender who won a large sum of money on the very day he got out of prison after serving a very long term. One of his victims filed suit against him to get some of that money.
2007-11-29 10:04:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He broke the terms of his probation. He should go to prison for that. However, I do not know about the legality of forcing him to return the money. Do the rules of the lottery have a stipulation that people who have probation terms prohibiting them from playing are not allowed to play? In this case, the rules of the lottery will determine what is to happen with the money. There might be a specific law out there that says he has to return the money but I have not heard of it. Unless that law exists or there are rules in the lottery that say different, I think he should be able to keep the money.
2007-11-29 09:57:58 · answer #4 · answered by A.Mercer 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
He broke the law when he bought the lottery ticket. It was a violation of his probation. He could be sent to prison for that. He should not get to keep the winnings.
2007-11-29 10:01:12 · answer #5 · answered by NOJ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He violated his probation, he should answer for that , but be allowed to keep his winnings, minus the cost of the lottery ticket and what ever the charges are for his court/jail for his crime that got him this probation to began with.
2007-11-29 10:13:46 · answer #6 · answered by culater 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He should not get paid because he apparently is too d--n stupid to be trusted with any money. He had to know he wasn't allowed to play the lottery. Once he won, all he had to do was give his ticket to someone else and pay them a portion to cash it on his behalf. I hope the prison has a separate wing to house the profoundly stupid.
2007-11-29 10:01:15 · answer #7 · answered by spirit dummy 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If the prohibition on him against purchasing lottery tickets is legal, then he has no right to claim the winnings.
If he legally could not purchase the ticket, then he cannot legally win the prize, IMO.
2007-11-29 10:04:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
He violated his probation, he doesn't deserve the winnings. Maybe the winnings should go back to the taxpayers who had to fork over $$$ to prosecute and house him ?
2007-11-29 10:03:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, he violated his parole. Since when did we begin rewarding negative behaviour?
His lottery winnings should not go to the government, either. It should be donated to a charity.
2007-11-29 09:59:00 · answer #10 · answered by Shayna 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋