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How a few grapes landed a Miami man in jail in 1988 [1]

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Date: 2025-11-10  

This bizarre news story from 1988 (Shared by Weird Universe) is about how a man spent a night in jail after tasting a few grapes in a supermarket that he was about to purchase. If you needed another reminder about why having a bit of power over others often turns people into jerks, the cop in this story is an example. The man in this story is Albert Culberth of Miami, who was out shopping with his wife and popped a few grapes from his cart into his mouth (they were in a bag with a set price and not charged by weight). An off-duty cop saw this happen and decided to be a bully.

From the news article in St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Apr 26, 1988 :

"A shopper landed in jail after an off-duty policeman saw him popping grapes in his mouth as he walked through a produce section of a supermarket. "They're taking me for eating grapes!" Arthur Culberth yelled as he was taken in handcuffs from a Winn-Dixie grocery in the Liberty City section of Miami. Culberth, 55, was charged Saturday with petty theft and resisting arrest without violence. After spending the night in jail, he was released on his promise to appear for a court date. Culberth, a plumber, said he had broken open a $1.65 package of grapes and plucked a couple into his mouth as he shopped with his wife and stepson. Off-duty Miami policeman Roger Smith, who moonlights as a security guard at the store, saw Culberth and told him he would have to pay at once. "He was given a chance to pay for the grapes and refused," Smith said. "I had no other alternative." But Culberth's wife, Linda, said the couple planned to pay for the fruit when their $30 order was rung up."How in the world is it petty theft if we're shopping? It's wrong, real wrong," she said. "We always pay our bills."

See also: Federal footlong: man who threw sandwich at cop found not guilty of assault

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