Ten Years for a Six Pack

May 15, 2006
Adam Bollenback received hard time for stealing a six-pack of beer.
Florida State Prison near Starke is where evil lives and dies. Serial killers Ted Bundy, Danny Rolling and Aileen Wuornos were all put to death there. Today, the worst of the worst still call Starke home, but in stark contrast is inmate Adam Bollenback.

"What I did was wrong, but did I deserve 10 years for it?" Bollenback asks. "No, I don't believe anyone would say that."

What was his crime? When Bollenback was 16 years old, he opened a refrigerator in his neighbor's garage, swiped a six pack and ran from police. He was tried as an adult and sentenced to nine years for the beer and one year for attempting to escape. He's now 21 years old. Even with good behavior, he'll be in prison until at least 2010. His mother still can't believe it.

Cheryl Bailey hugs son Adam Bollenback after he was sentenced at age 16.
"Adam had no weapon, was not gang affiliated, went into our neighbors garage, stole the beer, went home and he has 10 years in prison." Cheryl Bailey says recalling her son's crime. "Nobody understands it."

"I was very afraid every night of what would happen." Bailey said remembering the months after her son was sentenced. "I never prepared him for prison."

But Citrus County Assistant State Attorney Jeffery Smith has a different view of Bollenback's crime and punishment.

"All during life you have choices and opportunities, you make the wrong ones and you've got to pay the consequences," said Jeffery Smith who prosecutes juvenile cases in Citrus County. He knows everything in Adam Bollenback's file which includes a few petty crimes and some fights.

Prosecutor Jeff Smith filed charges to move Bollenback from juvenile to adult court.
"All the stuff was just basically minor stuff but it just continued to happen." Smith said.

"This kid never shot or stabbed anybody, yet he's in adult prison with death row inmates?" Investigative reporter Doug Smith asked.

"That's correct." Jeffery Smith replied. "I think it's a tragic situation but who's to blame? That's Adam Bollenback."

Jeffery Smith filed the charges to move Bollenback from up juvenile to adult court. But Bollenback's first adult case wasn't over the beer. The crime that put him in adult court involved a bag of potato chips. Prosecutors said he stole them from the lunch line at Citrus High School.

"I must profess that a bag of potato chips is not that big a deal." Smith admits.

But it was big deal, when the teenager asked for a jury trial. Because there are no juries for juvenile crimes, Jeffery Smith sent the case to adult court where Bollenback was found guilty and got probation. From that day forward in the eyes of the law, he was now an adult. Six months later, Bollenback took a walk through his neighborhood and noticed a refrigerator in an open garage.

"The charge was burglarizing a residence that was occupied." Investigative reporter Doug Smith stated.

"Yeah, I didn't know that was the case." Bollenback replied. "I mean, I didn't think I'd get 10 years for it."

The sentence came as a shock to almost everyone. Because of the petty nature of the crime, Florida's Department of Corrections recommended a sentence of only two years house arrest, but Citrus County Judge Ric Howard, known his harsh sentences, showed no mercy and ignored the recommendation. Judge Howard declined our request for an interview.

Bollenback's grandfather, John McCain, has tried to get the sentenced reduced.
"I couldn't believe it then and I don't now," said Adam Bollenback's grandfather, John McCain. "He can never recover what they stole from him. And they did steal it. They did steal his time."

The family has spent lots of time and money trying to overturn the sentence. At the same time, they filed a lawsuit against the Inverness Police Department for roughing up Bollenback during another run-in while he was awaiting trial for the beer. The city settled for $20,000 and shutdown the police department for good. City services were taken over by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. Ever since then, all the family's legal efforts to get Bollenback out of prison early have been blocked.

"Do you think because you made law enforcement look bad they in turn wanted to hurt you?" Doug Smith asked.

"I believe that's true." Bollenback replied. "It looks that way, doesn't it?"

He hasn't had an easy time in Starke. He's been beaten up several times by other inmates and even stabbed in the neck. At this point, he has exhausted all his legal options. An appeal to the Governor's Clemency Board was reviewed and ultimately denied.

So he waits for his 26th birthday and contemplates his adult crimes: stealing beer and potato chips. It's costing taxpayers almost $20,000 a year to keep him in Starke.

Florida State Prison is where death row inmates spend their final days.
"Is prison the right place for Adam Bollenback, should we be spending money to keep him behind bars?" Doug Smith asked Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Smith.

'I'm not going to say it's the wrong place, and I'm not going to say it's the right place." Jeffery Smith replied. "Adam did not have to take those potato chips. He just wanted to try to get away with something, he thought it was cute. He wanted to try to impress some friend by getting them beer."

"He's the one who's got to live with those choices."