http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/28/news/bangor/charging-of-cellphone-leads-to-misdemeanor-charges/?ref=mostReadBoxYeah, he's stealing.
But: A cell phone charger is a tiny little thing. Mine draws 0.2 amps from the AC side.
We have a couple of interesting federal and AZ laws, here.
#1 - It is illegal for a business or restaurant to deny someone water, even if not a paying customer, as long as they are reasonably capable of rendering humanitarian aid to do so. This harkens back to our desert heritage, but is still an actively protected law. Particularly regarding homeless. That doesn't entitle you to the expensive Evian stuff at $2.50 a bottle, but they'll fill up your hobo thermos from the city tap, or direct you to a water fountain or bathroom faucet. Or just let you grab water from the faucet out back. That's a public utility just like electricity.
#2 - It's illegal for a cell provider to deny 911 access to someone with an otherwise inactive phone. That's a federal law, and we all (paying cell customers) subsidize this with a universal 911 access surcharge tax on our bill every month. You can even donate old phones to homeless shelters for this purpose.
Given the two philosophies above, isn't it more or less the "right thing to do" to allow homeless to charge cell phones from whatever outlets they can find where they aren't otherwise impeding business?
Note I'm not suggesting they should be able to walk into 7-11 and unplug the coffee maker or cash register in order to charge their phone.
But an otherwise unused power outlet in a dark alley, at 12:30 at night, isn't impeding the business.
I think this is a chickenscat charge.
