Judge: Ham used child as excuse for crime

A woman who claimed she passed a worthless check to buy food for her hungry child brought the ire of the court Tuesday after the judge found reason to believe the mother was using her child to defend her criminal activity.

“I’m not buying it,” said General Sessions Judge Larry Ross to defendant Jennifer Ham. “Using a child as an excuse, that’s just wrong.”

Ross’ comment came as Ham was explaining why she passed a worthless check for $118 at Crisp Springs Market.

“I did it to feed my child,” Ham said of the worthless check.

Her claim prompted the judge to suggest had she simply told the owner of Crisp Springs Market or many other markets here that she could not afford to feed her child, they may have helped her out.

However, it was at that point Ham revealed Crisp Springs was not her first brush with the law. Instead, Ham admitted she had passed worthless check in five counties across Middle Tennessee.

The admission of the string of worthless checks, after using her child for an excuse, prompted Ross to give her 30 days in jail on the worthless check count. The judge said the fact she had passed worthless checks in so many places convinced him she was only using her child as a defense for her criminal behavior.

Adding to her jail term, Ham again referred to her child when asked why she failed to appear on her original trial date.

“I couldn’t find a baby-sitter,” Ham claimed, prompting the judge to give her an additional five days in jail for failure to appear in court.