Some stories leave you shaking your head because there simply isn’t a winner.
A person goes to work expecting an ordinary day. They’re there to earn a paycheck, help customers and head home to their family when the shift is over. Instead, they’re confronted by a robbery that instantly turns an ordinary workday into something they’ll likely remember for the rest of their life.
For what? According to investigators, three young people now face serious felony charges after what began as a robbery escalated into the theft of a vehicle, a high-speed pursuit and a crash. In the end, they didn’t get away with money. The vehicle they fled in was wrecked. All three were arrested. Their freedom is in jeopardy, at least for the foreseeable future, and because of the severity of the charges, two of them — despite being teenagers — are being prosecuted as adults under North Carolina law.
It’s difficult to find any logic in that equation. No fortune was made, no problem was solved, and no future was improved.
Instead, one victim was traumatized while simply trying to do their job. Families on both sides of this tragedy now have lives that have been permanently altered. Taxpayer resources were expended because of an extensive investigation involving deputies, detectives, Highway Patrol troopers, emergency responders, prosecutors and the court system.
All of that destruction, and nothing of value was gained.
There’s an old saying that has become popular in recent years: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. While the phrase is often used jokingly, it applies here in the most sobering way imaginable. Every decision carries consequences. Sometimes those consequences are temporary. Sometimes they follow you for the rest of your life.
A split-second decision can become a permanent record. One reckless choice can cost someone years of freedom, future employment opportunities and relationships that may never fully recover.
Too often, crime is portrayed as exciting or glamorous. Reality tells a different story. Courtrooms are not glamorous. Prison cells are not glamorous. Explaining to your family why you threw away your future is not glamorous.
The saddest part is that none of this had to happen.
Every person involved woke up that morning with the opportunity to make different choices. Had they done so, a worker would have finished an uneventful shift, three young people’s futures might not be hanging in the balance, and our community wouldn’t have another violent crime to discuss.
That’s a lesson worth remembering. Quick decisions can carry lifelong consequences. Before making one that can’t be undone, ask yourself one simple question: What am I really going to gain? Sometimes, as this case reminds us, the answer is absolutely nothing.