It's a small world after all. A judge got the shock of her life when she discovered that the defendant in her courtroom was a former classmate.
The incident actually happened back in 2015. But it's back in the news thanks to a new wrinkle in the story. Judge Mindy Glazer paused her line of thought in the courtroom when she saw her old classmate Arthur Booth. He was standing before her for a hearing. He was facing burglary charges in Florida.
She asked him, "Did you go to Nautilus for middle school?" In response, Booth got emotional and said, "Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness."
Glazer continued: "I'm sorry to see you and I always wondered what happened to you." The judge couldn't understand how he wound up in her court room. She said, "This was the nicest kid in middle school. He was the best kid in middle school. I used to play football with him. Look what has happened."
Despite knowing each other, Glazer still sentenced him to 10 months in prison. She was there when he later got released. The judge said, "Take care of your family. Try to get a job. Stay clean. You're going to do something good for somebody else."
Booth replied, "You better believe it. You better believe it."
Judge Meets Classmate
Sadly, the story doesn't end there. Authorities arrested Booth for a series of charges in Florida. He apparently pretended to be a plumber to rob someone.
"Once inside the home, he went around the house, found a jewelry box, stole jewelry from the victim and fled in an unknown direction," police spokesman Freddie Cruz said. He used the ruse for another crime. "Once inside the home he actually snatched the chain of the victim and fled."
Botth also allegedly snatched a woman's chain after asking for directions. He ended up coming face to face with the judge once more. He was uncomfortable standing in court. As per the Daily Mail, Glazer said: "I want to say hi to Arthur. I wish it wasn't like this. I can't hear the case. I'm going to get another judge to handle it. I hope things work out for you."
