The police down in Jeannette, Pa. must be smoking some really strong crack cocaine these days. They actually arrested a kid by the name of Michael Loughner for “harassment” because he meowed at Alexandria Carasia, his 78-year-old neighbor. It seems the Loughners had a cat which the neighbor kept complaining was using her flower garden as a litter box so the family sent the cat off to live with relatives to try and keep the peace. The boy was understandably upset about it and is accused of “taunting” Carasia by meowing at her whenever she walks by the yard:
“I’ve had to put up with this for three years,” Carasia said. “As I walk by, I see Michael and his mother. He got on the porch and hid behind the bamboo screen and starts meowing. If I don’t make this stop now, they’re going to keep doing this to me. I shouldn’t have to worry about walking out of the house and being harassed by this young kid.”
Loughner said that on July 23 he went out to hold his dog so it wouldn’t leave the yard as Carasia walked by.
“She was walking through and she kept looking at us,” he testified. “I grabbed the dog so it wouldn’t leave the yard. When I put my head down, I meowed.”
He said that was one of the two times he’s ever meowed at the woman, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported.
“As she walked in front of the house, nothing was said,” the boy’s mother, Sally Loughner, told the court. “He stepped off the porch to make sure the dog didn’t get out. As he reached down and got the dog, he said, ‘Meow.’ ... She said, ‘Do you want me to call the cops again?’ I said, ‘Go ahead, he hasn’t done anything wrong.’”
The neighbor called the police and they actually came out and arrested Michael for malicious meowing at elderly and stupid people. What’s even more amazing is that the judge didn’t kick both the cops and the old lady in the ass for wasting his time like he should have and instead has decided to wait 90 days to see if the neighbors can get along before issuing a ruling in the case. This has to be the most asinine trial I’ve ever heard of.
Posted on 08/24/2006 at 05:36 PM 
This may sound stupid on the surface, but I have to side with the old lady. 14 year olds don’t just do something, annoying, once or twice. Kids can be just as vicious and mean as any adult can; and more often than not if there is someone to pick on AND they can get away with it, they will. There’s a kid in my neighborhood that cackles and calls me a witch every single time he sees me. I know why he does this (because the kids rarely see me outside and pretty much only when its dark) and he thinks he’s harmless.
The kid annoys the bejeezus out of me and makes my life, when I go outside very unpleasant. I finally broke down one night, told the husband what this kid was doing and even though my husband thought it was silly, he went over to the kids’ parents and talked to them. They spoke to their kid and sent him over to apologize. The kid is actually kind of nice and his apology was sincere.
Maybe arrest was a bit harsh, but someone needed to tell that kid that his behavior was unacceptable.