Lawmaker Steals Leather Pants, Brain Tumor May Be Responsible, Lawyer Says
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A San Francisco lawmaker pleaded no contest after stealing nearly $2,500 of clothing from an upscale department store and a benign brain tumor may have impaired her judgment, her lawyer says.
Democratic Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi’s lawyer says her medical condition might have played a role in her shoplifting, but her spokesman says she is not using it as an excuse, according to ABC station KGO-TV.
Hayashi, 44, was arrested in October for stealing leather pants and other articles of clothing from Neiman Marcus in Union Square. Prosecutors said before leaving the store, Hayashi took the clothes into a dressing room and stuffed them into an empty shopping bag.
Investigators say store security was tracking Hayashi after a saleswoman told guards she suspected the assemblywoman of stealing a dress the week before.
A spokesman hired by Hayashi to deal with the incident said she was going to pay for the items, but she was distracted by cell phone calls.
“She stepped outside the door, realized something was wrong, but before she had the opportunity to go back and correct her mistake, security was there,” Sam Singer told KGO-TV.
When Hayashi appeared in San Francisco Superior Court on Friday, the judge reduced the charge from felony grand theft to a misdemeanor at a prosecutor’s request. Hayashi pleaded no contest, and was given three years probation, a fine of $180 and ordered her to keep a distance of 50 feet from Neiman Marcus.
Hayashi’s lawyer, Doug Rappaport, said outside the courtroom that she suffers from a medical condition that experts say may have affected her judgment when she was caught.
“Unfortunately, she’s been diagnosed with a brain tumor, however, fortunately for her, it’s benign and it can be taken care of and addressed with medication which is exactly what’s happening,” he said.
But her spokesman, Singer, sent an email Friday saying Hayashi’s brain tumor “did not play a role in her forgetfulness and distraction in accidentally walking out.”
The district attorney’s office says Hayashi’s medical condition did not have an impact on the judge’s decision.
Regardless of the conflicting statements, the prosecution at the district attorney’s office says the brain tumor had nothing to do with their decision to change the felony to a misdemeanor. They say she is a first-time offender with no priors and that she admitted her guilt early on.
“Her condition never factored into our decision,” Stephanie Ong Stillman, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, told Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
District Attorney George Gascon said at a press conference before the hearing that his office would accept the judge’s decision.
“She is a first-time offender. She has no criminal record. So while what she did is inexcusable and she needs to be held accountable for her actions, I think it’s appropriate to examine and explore all the different possibilities,” Gascon said.
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Lock him up just like every other criminal!
These politicians are NOT above the law! They may be “allowed” to pass laws without our consent but they are NOT above the law!
Posted by: ED | January 7, 2012, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
I have heard that a brain tumor can affect the part of the brain that will control impulses so I think she should be forgiven. However she will have to step down from being in office because of the impulse factor..I sure hope she doesn’t have a history of this and only she would know this. I really wish her well.
Posted by: Deb | January 7, 2012, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
The most critical piece of information in determining whether the brain tumor did or didn’t have a possible role in her shoplifting is NOT in this news piece. Where in the brain is the brain tumor? Frontal lobe tumors can sometimes cause people to do things they wouldn’t normally do, but reading this story, I’m doubting this lady’s behavior was because of her tumor.
Posted by: Minorkey1 | January 7, 2012, 4:50 pm 4:50 pm
Hayashi’s a joke of a lawmaker that’s done very little good by backing anti-progressive medical laws in California aimed at padding the state’s medical complex’s pocket. When your in bed with the state’s medical interest lobby, you have sticky hands when you pull out from the honey pot.
I hope poor error in judgement is enough to pull this unscrupulous person from her position.
[Btw I'm sorry to hear about her brain mass, never an easy thing to do. Still, I hope she relinquishes her position based on political record.]
Posted by: DAVE | January 7, 2012, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
didn’t wynona rider do the same thing. stuff a bunch of clothes in a bag. then claimed she didn’t do it. she was on camera stuffing the clothes in a bag. these people get caught and then try to lie their way out of it. i have a brain tumor and never went out and stole anything. she is just a flat out bald faced liar and is trying to get out of it and does not want people think that she is a thief which she is and has probably passed all sort of judgement on other people and is worse than the people she talks about. she is still keeping her job, by the way, but she would have been the first one trying to get someone else fired if she hadn’t got caught.
Posted by: msfaye2u | January 7, 2012, 5:30 pm 5:30 pm
Depending on where the tumor is located it can play a role, and if it’s the case with her, her medical records will back her up. But I agree with the other poster who said she ought to step down. If her health interferes with her personal decisions like this, it’s surely affecting the public ones as well. I don’t know though, it is odd that she went into the dressing room with merchandise and an empty shopping bag. Where’d she get the bag? If she had that many items that couldn’t be carried, I’m sure the store could have assisted her, and held them at the register while she finished shopping. And how do you get distracted with phone calls enough that you forget to pay for your stuff? I’d be more inclined to believe her if it maybe a gas station or grocery store, and it was a small item. But not a bag full of clothing.
Posted by: Mobalajee | January 7, 2012, 6:01 pm 6:01 pm
Who would buy a leather outfit anyway? Maybe she’s got a brain tumor because she uses the cellphone too much? EVERYONE seems to be getting brain tumors! Maybe microwave radiation isn’t GOOD for you?
Posted by: Frootloop | January 7, 2012, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
I had brain surgery for a tumor three years ago. Prior to the surgery, I experienced a lot of memory loss. I would look up a phone number in the phone and had to write it down on paper as I couldn’t remember the numbers. It does change a person’s mindset, but I feel this lady was aware that she was shoplifting.
Posted by: Sage | January 7, 2012, 6:14 pm 6:14 pm
The woman is liar as well as a thief. She should be found guilty of grand theft, and removed forever from public office. She also should be fined and jailed for her offenses and for trying to use a medical diagnosis for her apparent lack of character.
Posted by: Ernest Emmerling | January 7, 2012, 6:37 pm 6:37 pm
Just hen you think there are few surprises left in the world…
Posted by: Johnnie | January 7, 2012, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
Kind of odd that it is a lawyer presenting the excuse, and not a doctor, as well as the explanation that she will take some pills and be normal again. Lawyers lie for their profession.
Posted by: vissionquest | January 7, 2012, 7:16 pm 7:16 pm
Originally she blamed it on her cell phone use at the time which caused her to forget to pay. Now she says it might be a brain tumor. I’ll accept the latter excuse if she steps down as a legislator.
Posted by: deerjerkydave | January 7, 2012, 7:59 pm 7:59 pm
It seems to me that if her brain tumor is a condition that causes this kind of lapse in judgement, then she is not fit to continue to hold office at this time. Where is her resignation?
Posted by: Gregster | January 7, 2012, 8:46 pm 8:46 pm
Just come out and say it, IT was BUSH’s fault
Posted by: Harry Tick | January 7, 2012, 10:30 pm 10:30 pm
“So while what she did is inexcusable and she needs to be held accountable for her actions, I think it’s appropriate to examine and explore all the different possibilities.”
That was MY line in college.
Posted by: Harry TIck | January 7, 2012, 11:02 pm 11:02 pm
I’m never surprised by Politician’s sticky fingers but always amused by their excuses when caught with their hands in the cookie jar. What always get my attention is why people voted for these characters in the first place. Remember President Reagan? I thought he was hard of hearing due to his advanced age and personality. He actually suffered from a disease. However, it didn’t prevent him from accepting $5,000,000 to represent Japanese products at the expense of U.S. made items. Guess a brain problem can be used as an excuse by anyone. Only rarely are the politicians accurate!
Posted by: E.W. Liggett | January 7, 2012, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
That is weak.
The BENEIGN brain tumor MIGHT have been the cause.
Where was the tumor located? What was the size? What symptoms are typical? I’ve never read that shoplifting was a symptom…
I had a brain tumor, thankfully benign, and have no sympathy for this politician.
She should resign.
Posted by: misterv | January 7, 2012, 11:26 pm 11:26 pm
hey ! everyone wake up ! already. . . . .most crimes of perjury and felonious crimes are commited by the “educated” ” high class “. and guess what they can “afford” to get away with it ! they always have and in this corrupt system , they always will. this is not only factual but true .
Posted by: pedro suero | January 7, 2012, 11:32 pm 11:32 pm
if you continue to condone and allow so many travesties to invalidate our constitution then you are just as guilty as the people who know better but choose to commit crimes.
Posted by: pedro suero | January 7, 2012, 11:38 pm 11:38 pm
Her husband is a superior court judge. The CA assembly speaker say he believes she can continue to support her constituents. She goes into Nieman Marcus with an empty shopping bag comes out with $2,500 leather pants a felony, which is reduced to a misdemeanor. If her brain tumor affected her judgement which I don’t believe, there is no way in h*** she should continue to serve in the CA assembly. There is enough incapacitated judgement in Sacramento as it is. Finally, if it were a regular guy or girl, they would be fired from their job and do some time. So much for justice is blind.
Posted by: Regular Guy | January 8, 2012, 12:11 am 12:11 am
This is just another example of our crooked lawmakers being above the laws they enact. What would the sentence be for “joe citizen” with a brain tumor? Was medical evidence presented in court? And what about the dress she allegedly stole the week before? She’s a chronic thief but of course she isn’t going to jail or paying any substantial fine. She’s being given a pass because of who she is. Justice is apparently NOT blind.
Posted by: Mary Byrd | January 8, 2012, 12:31 am 12:31 am
If a brain tumor is the reason behind her felonious behavior, she surely needs to step down from her job as a California assemblyman.
Posted by: Duude | January 8, 2012, 12:32 am 12:32 am
you can say that i am crazy, but I want to know what such this lawmaker steal from the amercan citizens while serving in public office ?
Posted by: rights to know | January 8, 2012, 1:26 am 1:26 am
we are having thieves serving in public office ! watch out people and uncle sam !
Posted by: level 5 alert | January 8, 2012, 1:35 am 1:35 am
always knew that the dems at something wrong in their heads.
Posted by: NJohn | January 8, 2012, 2:04 am 2:04 am
Cool!! Do you mean we can blame a brain tumor for us breaking the law these days??? When will it end??? Who else will try this stunt??? Maybe if we do a medical survey of all the incarcerated inmates at the local city jail, they will all complain of headaches, blurry vision, and the other symptoms of a brain tumor. We could let them all out in a short amount of time by sending in a large team of doctors. The result? AN EMPTY JAIL!!! Who woulda thunk!?!?!?!
Posted by: Rick | January 8, 2012, 2:08 am 2:08 am
Just another politician getting off scott free, Now one more excuss for criminal/bad behavior on the part of a politician.
Posted by: Wouter Dito | January 8, 2012, 2:36 am 2:36 am
Apparently brain tumors and illness seem only affect the bad impulses and actions of people.
Why don’t brain tumors provoke people to suddenly give away all their possessions and wealth to the needy or cause people to quit their day jobs and volunteer at homeless shelters ?
Posted by: Patrick Shaw | January 8, 2012, 4:00 am 4:00 am