A burglar ruined Prentiss Robbins' Christmas last year, but now Criminal Court Judge Joe B. Brown has brought Robbins tidings of good cheer.
It's making many lawyers cringe, but Robbins unexpectedly received court authority to visit the home of the confessed burglar and take any five items he wants - for keeps."Are you serious? I never heard of that before," said Robbins, 29, when told of the court order. "Yeah, I want to get involved in that."
The burglar, Carlos Haley, 20, was less eager to get involved in the eye-for-an-eye arrangement but said he went along with it so he could get three years of probation instead of prison time. He's less clear on why the judge also ordered him to see the film "Boyz N the Hood" and write a double-spaced, 10-page report - or spend three weekends in jail.
"I don't know what that has to do with the case," said Haley, "but why go to jail when you can do something simple?"
Haley doesn't know Brown, who in 12 months on the bench has developed a reputation as a refreshingly innovative thinker to some and as a wild card to others.