Fair or Foul: Dad arrested for taking daughters cell phone
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2stepz_ahead
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Is the dad right for not ? with either of them after this?
When Ronald Jackson found a text he thought was rude and inappropriate on his then-12-year-old daughter’s phone in September 2013, he took the cell away. But the child’s mother, Michelle Steppe, balked at his action — and she called the police.
Steppe and Jackson have not been a couple for years, and Steppe is now married to a Grand Prairie, Texas, police officer. When the police showed up at Jackson’s door later that day and asked for the iPhone 4 back, Jackson refused. “At that point I decided the police don’t interfere with my ability to parent my daughter,” he told KHOU 11 News on Wednesday.
But Steppe insisted that the phone belonged to her, and three months after Jackson refused to return it, he got a citation in the mail for theft of property. He was offered a plea deal in January 2014 if he would return the phone. Instead, Jackson hired an attorney and requested a jury trial.
The case moved to Dallas County and, unbeknownst to Jackson, a warrant was issued for his arrest. The police showed up at his door around 2 a.m. in April 2015, and Jackson was handcuffed and taken to jail.
“It made no sense to me for them to show up and make a big deal out of something that was a small thing,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t believe they would go to this extent for a cellphone. It didn’t seem right.” He posted $1,500 bail and was released after a night in jail.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cameron Gray, Jackson’s defense attorney, told KHOU Wednesday. “You would think we were on the Jerry Springer Show.”
After just a two-day trial — in which Jackson’s daughter, now 15, testified — Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty, citing insufficient evidence to prove a theft charge. Steppe disagrees with the verdict. “Even if you purchase something with your own money and have a receipt, it’s not yours,” she said. “Someone can take it from you.”
Although Jackson won the case and is allowed to keep the phone, he said he has had to separate himself from Steppe and his daughter because of this incident. “I can’t ever have a relationship with them again,” he said.
On KHOU’s Facebook page, most commenters have been supportive of Jackson’s disciplinary action. One person wrote, “Good job dad. Inappropriate text are definitely a reason to lose the phone.” Another lamented the big-picture consequences: “The poor girl just lost her relationship with her dad because her mom was being petty.”
Still another commenter wished both parents had acted differently, posting, “In my eyes both of them have growing up to do,” and suggesting that Jackson’s punishment hold for his home but not the mother’s. “It’s called co-parenting for a reason people
When Ronald Jackson found a text he thought was rude and inappropriate on his then-12-year-old daughter’s phone in September 2013, he took the cell away. But the child’s mother, Michelle Steppe, balked at his action — and she called the police.
Steppe and Jackson have not been a couple for years, and Steppe is now married to a Grand Prairie, Texas, police officer. When the police showed up at Jackson’s door later that day and asked for the iPhone 4 back, Jackson refused. “At that point I decided the police don’t interfere with my ability to parent my daughter,” he told KHOU 11 News on Wednesday.
But Steppe insisted that the phone belonged to her, and three months after Jackson refused to return it, he got a citation in the mail for theft of property. He was offered a plea deal in January 2014 if he would return the phone. Instead, Jackson hired an attorney and requested a jury trial.
The case moved to Dallas County and, unbeknownst to Jackson, a warrant was issued for his arrest. The police showed up at his door around 2 a.m. in April 2015, and Jackson was handcuffed and taken to jail.
“It made no sense to me for them to show up and make a big deal out of something that was a small thing,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t believe they would go to this extent for a cellphone. It didn’t seem right.” He posted $1,500 bail and was released after a night in jail.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cameron Gray, Jackson’s defense attorney, told KHOU Wednesday. “You would think we were on the Jerry Springer Show.”
After just a two-day trial — in which Jackson’s daughter, now 15, testified — Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty, citing insufficient evidence to prove a theft charge. Steppe disagrees with the verdict. “Even if you purchase something with your own money and have a receipt, it’s not yours,” she said. “Someone can take it from you.”
Although Jackson won the case and is allowed to keep the phone, he said he has had to separate himself from Steppe and his daughter because of this incident. “I can’t ever have a relationship with them again,” he said.
On KHOU’s Facebook page, most commenters have been supportive of Jackson’s disciplinary action. One person wrote, “Good job dad. Inappropriate text are definitely a reason to lose the phone.” Another lamented the big-picture consequences: “The poor girl just lost her relationship with her dad because her mom was being petty.”
Still another commenter wished both parents had acted differently, posting, “In my eyes both of them have growing up to do,” and suggesting that Jackson’s punishment hold for his home but not the mother’s. “It’s called co-parenting for a reason people
Fair or Foul: Dad arrested for taking daughters cell phone 51 votes
fair
23%
![[Deleted User]](https://w1.vanillicon.com/v2/15efd8efe08bb34aae25f1808aaf5018.svg)
12 votes
foul
76%
![[Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e5577fbcab3d39c9b35d3d720b4dacee.svg)
39 votes
Comments
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Classic example of trying to spite the other parent but having the child lose a parent cuz you wanna be their freind.
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foulIt's foul the mom went to the police about it. But to cut both mothe AND daughter? I understand the mother but the daughter is my seed so I couldn't see myself not talking to the daughter anymore. I would definitely try to patch up the relationship with the daughter
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It's foul the mom went to the police about it. But to cut both mothe AND daughter? I understand the mother but the daughter is my seed so I couldn't see myself not talking to the daughter anymore. I would definitely try to patch up the relationship with the daughter
Even tho she testified against you? An you went to jail.
So you ok with you seed fukkkn with your freedom because she spoiled? -
foulI would distance myself from both of them too.
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@zzombie will you ? her for shaming your family?
@mryounggun give your philosophical answer
@dalyricalbandit say it in Spanish bruh
@S2J is he washed or nah?
@Young_Chitlin will you still take her to try new foods?
@Black_Thunder you ? the dad or nah? -
I can understand the father's hurt and anger but, the 12 year old got manipulated by the mother. Abandoning her now leaves her totally defenseless. 12 year olds don't have rights, they are at the mercy of the adults surrounding them.
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foul2stepz_ahead wrote: »It's foul the mom went to the police about it. But to cut both mothe AND daughter? I understand the mother but the daughter is my seed so I couldn't see myself not talking to the daughter anymore. I would definitely try to patch up the relationship with the daughter
Even tho she testified against you? An you went to jail.
So you ok with you seed fukkkn with your freedom because she spoiled?
That's still ur seed, no matter how bad she was. If u don't wanna forgive, I understand. The mother can go kick rocks as far as I'm concerned. But the daughter? I don't think I could just disown her. I would at least try to repair the relationship. -
Some Single mamas and they petty ? is one of the reasons the black community isn't as United as it should be.
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foulThe mother will always be there if he wants a relationship with his daughter.
So he has to distance himself from both of them. Plus she's married to a cop too.
? got bad written all over it.
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fouldamn its tough raising kids when parents aren't together or arent on the same page
obviously mom & daughter have no respect for the father as a parent and blew this out of proportion.
he was just trying to be a good dad -
foulParenting 101.
Never undermine the other parent. -
@Vader_F_Kennedy you leaving an getting a drink? Or staying an drink?
@Sion do you walk away from this investment?
@Kat would you do this if the father was black?
@Ajackson17 what would they do in ancient kemet? -
foulDon't @ me to ? ass questions.
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fairRead this story online last night. It's 80% fair and 20% foul. The bottom line is that there was a cellphone. You took the cell phone. You refused to return the cell phone. The cell phone was purchased by someone else and doesn't belong to you. That's pretty cut and dry. You HAVE to know the potential outcome of that.
For the most part, the cops' hands are tied. Someone is reporting a cell phone stolen. They ask you about it and you admit to taking it and say that you're not giving it back. The ? you thought was gonna happen? I mean, it's definitely petty as ? and stupid. But so is taking the phone and not returning it to the mother.
There are two different issues...
The actual thread topic - dad was arrested for taking the cell phone because she was being rude and refusing to give it back to the person who bought it - FAIR.
Mom undermining the the girls father and being petty - FOUL. -
foulFoul
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fairI meant "Foul"
? ...I don't agree with this petty ? . -
fair2stepz_ahead wrote: »@Vader_F_Kennedy you leaving an getting a drink? Or staying an drink?
@Sion do you walk away from this investment?
@Kat would you do this if the father was black?
@Ajackson17 what would they do in ancient kemet?
In ancient Africa period? This wouldn't have seen a hearing, the mother would have gotten smacked up and the daughter smacked up. Point blank, both was wrong. The father is defending his daughter's virtue which is considered very noble around the world. The elders would have reprimanded the mother. Anyway, majority of cultures, the children would have stayed with the father.
But I'm pretty sure the cellphone would have been given to the mother since women are property owners and material owners as well and can be business owners as well. -
fairThe user and all related content has been deleted.
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fairbabelipsss wrote: »I can understand the father's hurt and anger but, the 12 year old got manipulated by the mother. Abandoning her now leaves her totally defenseless. 12 year olds don't have rights, they are at the mercy of the adults surrounding them.
Read the post the daughter testified when she was 15 not 12. At 15 you know damn well when you being manipulated on some petty ? by one of your parents.
I respect and agree with the father stance. Now if the daughter come to him with a sincere apology and recognize the error of her ways I think he should try to work that out with.
Its ? the mother for life though!!
To be clear I voted fair because of the question posed in the op. I don't have a problem with the father removing himself from the picture behind this. The moves made by both show that have no respect for him and don't value him as the father. Getting him locked up over the phone shows they (mother and daughter) feel like he is not needed in her life. -
Why is she that age with a iPhone? ? should've got her a flip phone that can't do ? but call and text.
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fairWhy is she that age with a iPhone? ? should've got her a flip phone that can't do ? but call and text.
Texting was still the issue that started the problem. -
Nah, you know it was some pictures. Snapchat or some ? , a lot of these little ? look at you crazy if all you do is text now. You better have 4 different apps that can talk to the same person about some ? . -
fair
Nah, you know it was some pictures. Snapchat or some ? , a lot of these little ? look at you crazy if all you do is text now. You better have 4 different apps that can talk to the same person about some ? .
LLS you probably right! -
He should have just confiscated the phone and gave it to his ex with an explanation when his daughter went home.
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foulHad a similar situation. My daughter was the same age and everything. I ain't go to jail tho.
What people who haven't been in this situation don't understand is that him distancing himself from his daughter doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't love her or is done with her forever. In situations like this, sometimes the child is so brainwashed that there's no getting through to them and add on the fact that kids, pre-teens/teens especially, are manipulative lil ? when they want their way.
I'm willing to bet this ain't the first time his daughter has been a co-conspirator to her mother ? him over.
