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Million dollar lottery ticket awarded to original buyer

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Reported by: David Goins

Email: dgoins@fox16.com

Tags:

beebe, gas station, hearing, lottery ticket, white county

Updated: 5/01/2012 10:30 pm

Published: 5/01/2012 9:49 am

SEARCY, AR - After a 10 month long legal battle, a Searcy judge has awarded a one million dollar lottery ticket to the woman who is believed to have originally purchased it.

Sharon Duncan says she purchased the lottery ticket that Sharon Jones pulled from a trash bin at the Super 1 Stop in Beebe last July.

After a legal battle involving Super 1 Stop manager Lisa Petriches, store owner Louie Dajani, Jones, Duncan and the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, the million dollar prize money has been taken from Jones and awarded to Duncan.

"I'm glad it's over," Duncan said afterwards. She told FOX16 News she doesn't know what she will do with the money.

William Jones, husband of Sharon Jones, told FOX16 News they will appeal the verdict.

"All it's been from the beginning is greed and extortion, that's all it's been," Jones says. "They've put my wife through hell for ten months."

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of FOX16 - Breaking News and Weather to Plan Your Day for Little Rock and Central Arkansas

randalbean - 5/3/2012 11:24 AM

1 Vote

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It seems to me that the Lottery Commission could be held responsible in this case due to the faulty system they have in-place. Who can trust them and their games now? In any case, I'll bet the biggest winners will be the lawyers involved in the case - they'll probably get most of the million. Hey - I can't be arrested for internet betting because of that last sentence - can I?

dilligaf - 5/2/2012 4:23 PM

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A licensed private investigator trying to quote law is funny. LOL. In my life and in my career in law enforcement and now in the private security business, I have chewed up soooooooooooooo many "private investigators" in court because the majority of them are only a private investigator because they couldnt make it as a real detective or in a criminal field. A licensed peeping tom is what it is, and its funny the name on this one is "Mr Tom." LOL

rossATC - 5/2/2012 3:27 PM

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Big lesson out of all of this........Sign the back like you are supposed to and none of this would have been an issue. Where is the proof the lady who claims she bought the ticket even actually bought it? The security video was inconclusive, they do not issue receipts for scratch tickets, and she didn't sign the back of the ticket. Therefore unless they had some other form of proof they have not disclosed there is not significant evidence to award the money to anyone other than the person the lottery commission determined to be the winner.

Mr Tom - 5/2/2012 11:10 AM

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Listen People! I am a licensed Private ivestigator and I deal with "JUST THE FACTS"! And, if "in fact" the woman that was awarded the money really was the Original purchaser of the ticket, then she should be the winner and the owner of the money! Because, just think! If the woman that claims she "found" the ticket had of won this case, then any person that comes in contact with a winning ticket, either buy stealing it etc, then all they have to say is that "I found it in a trash can or on the sidewalk" etc, and they would have to be given the winnings from the ticket or it would not be fair, all because of a bad decision by a judge. Yes, finders keepers, loosers weepers, is how I grew up too but we have to do it by the book! Again, "JUST THE FACTS MAAM!

wpsark - 5/2/2012 9:04 AM

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hmmm, if the woman scanned her ticket and it said "not a winner", why would that lady have gone and gotten it out of the trash unless she knew it was a winner...She's a thief in my eyes. The judge made a good call. I'm all for "finders keepers, losers weepers" but in this case, the lady who bought the ticket was scammed.

dilligaf - 5/2/2012 7:35 AM

2 Votes

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After attorney fees and taxes, she isnt going to have squat left anyways.

spyingonyou - 5/2/2012 5:45 AM

1 Vote

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A lottery scratch off ticket let's you know if you are a winner after you scratch off the winning number, no need to have the ticket scanned. What's wrong with that picture ? I think the woman who got the ticket out of the trash is the winner trash is any bodies trash in this case it just happen to be worth a Million Dollars worth of trash , I'm glad she spent some of the money .

amberjack - 5/2/2012 5:19 AM

1 Vote

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The sad thing is the amount some moron called an attorney will get for doing very little work

XWildOne - 5/2/2012 12:52 AM

3 Votes

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Sounds to me like the customer had the clerk scan the ticket and the clerk lied and said the ticket was not a winner. The customer then throws the ticket away. And before the clerk could get the ticket out of the trash, along comes this other woman and digs it out of the trash.

veenie914 - 5/2/2012 12:37 AM

3 Votes

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My question is: How did the judge know who bought the ticket??? Anyone could say they bought the ticket. The ticket was in the trash...that means anyone can pick it up..the judge in this case is Koo-Koo...I could say it was my ticket...

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