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 GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) – Arrested on a theft charge for disciplining his daughter by taking her cell phone away, a North Texas father said “justice” was finally served. 
 
 Ronald Jackson was arrested by Grand Prairie police after investigators attempted to retrieve the phone, but were never successful in their efforts. 
 
 A judge at the Dallas County Courthouse found Jackson not guilty on Tuesday, citing a lack of evidence to move forward with the case. 
 
 Jackson said in 2013 when his daughter was 12, he discovered a text that he found rude on her phone regarding another woman. He took the phone away to teach her a lesson. “I was being a parent. You know, a child does something wrong, you teach them what’s right,” said Jackson. “You tell them what they did wrong and you give them a punishment to show that they shouldn’t be doing that.” 
 
 But when Jackson’s ex-wife found out, whose spouse is a Grand Prairie police officer, the cops were called to get the phone from Jackson. He refused. Around 2 a.m., Jackson got a knock on his door, and soon he found himself in handcuffs, heading to jail. 
 
 “I didn’t want the police department telling me how to parent my child. It made no sense to me for them to show up and make a big deal out of something that was a small thing,” said Jackson. “I couldn’t believe they would go to this extent for a cell phone. It didn’t seem right.” 
 
 Jackson was release from jail after posting $1,500 bail. 
 
 A year-and-a-half later though, a warrant was issued and Jackson was charged with misdemeanor theft. The North Texas father said he couldn’t believe it. “Why would you need to go arrest somebody for something like that? Don’t you have better things to do as a police officer? Aren’t there bigger crimes in the city to go take care of?” 
 
 But a Dallas County judge would have the final say. Judge Lisa Green ruled that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove theft had occurred and found Jackson not guilty. 
 
 Jackson’s ex-wife said the phone was not his property to take in the first place. If he had just returned the phone from the beginning, his ex-wife said none of this would have happened. But apparently the judge disagreed, because Jackson also got to keep the confiscated phone. 
 
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 DALLAS – A Dallas County jury found a father not guilty Tuesday of theft for taking away his daughter’s cell phone as punishment. 
 
 Ronald Jackson, 36, was charged with theft of property of at least $50 but under $500, a Class B misdemeanor. 
 
 Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty after ruling the state failed to present sufficient evidence to continue the case. 
 
 Jackson said he took his 12-year-old daughter’s cell phone as punishment after finding inappropriate texts in September 2013. A few hours later, officers from the Grand Prairie Police Department showed up at his front door, asking for the iPhone 4 back. 
 
 "At that point, I decided the police don't interfere with my ability to parent my daughter," Jackson said. 
 
 Michelle Steppe, the child's mother, sees it differently. 
 
 "As a mom, I'm upset because — number one — the property belongs to me," she said. 
 
 Steppe told jurors on Monday she called police the day her daughter lost the use of her phone for disciplinary reasons. 
 
 "You can't take someone's property, regardless if you're a parent or not," Steppe said. 
 
 Family dispute over cell phone leads to jury trial. 
 
 Ronald Jackson and Michelle Steppe readily admit they are not a couple anymore. Jackson said they were never married but had a child together. Steppe said Jackson didn't become a part of his daughter's life until she was seven. 
 
 Three months after the phone incident, Jackson received a citation in the mail for theft of property less than $50 in value, a Class C misdemeanor. According to court documents, the city attorney's office offered a plea deal in January 2014 if Jackson returned the phone. 
 
 Jackson hired an attorney and requested a jury trial in municipal court. 
 
 Court filings indicate the city attorney's office requested the case be dismissed that same month and refiled with the Dallas County District Attorney's office as a more stringent Class B misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. 
 
 Cameron Gray, a defense attorney representing Jackson, said a warrant was issued, and his client was arrested at his home in the middle of the night in April 2015. Jackson posted a cash bail of $1,500 to get out of jail. 
 
 On Wednesday, Detective Lyle Gensler with Grand Prairie police told News8 officers made several unsuccessful attempts to return the property to its owner. 
 
 "We do not like these kinds of instances to go into the criminal justice system," Gensler says. "We prefer to keep it out and the phone be returned and let the parents, the two adults, and let them work it out among themselves." 
 
 Michelle Steppe is married to a Grand Prairie police officer. 
 
 "In the entire investigation that never came into play," Gensler says. 
 
 During the two-day trial, Jackson's daughter, now 15, took the stand and testified about her father taking her phone. 
 
 "It was the last thing as a mother I wanted my daughter to go through," Steppe says. "I'm always here for my kids." 
 
 Steppe said she was confused by the verdict because she purchased the phone and maintained cell phone plans under her name. 
 
 "Even if you purchase something with your own money and have a receipt, it's not yours," Steppe says. "Someone can take it from you." 
 
 Jackson says the ordeal has permanently ended any chances to have a relationship with his daughter. 
 
 "I have to separate myself from them," Jackson says. "I can't ever have a relationship with them again." 
 
 Gray says the case is not over. He says he plans to file a federal complaint for civil rights violations for the way his client was treated by the Grand Prairie Police Department and the city attorney's office. 
 
 Detective Lyle Gensler with Grand Prairie police told News8 officers made several unsuccessful attempts to return the property to its owner. 
 
 Jackson still has the phone.
– A Texas father arrested for taking away his daughter's cell phone as a punishment will avoid jail but may suffer an even worse fate. In 2013, Ronald Jackson viewed a text he thought was "rude" on his 12-year-old daughter's iPhone 4, so he confiscated it, CBS DFW reports. "I was being a parent," Jackson says. "You tell them what they did wrong and you give them a punishment to show that they shouldn’t be doing that." Unfortunately, Jackson's ex, who is married to a Grand Prairie Police Department officer, disagreed. He was initially handed a citation, but things escalated to the point where police showed up in April 2015 and hauled Jackson to jail. "I'm upset because—number one—the property belongs to me," the girl's mother, Michelle Steppe, tells WFAA. Jackson, who was charged with theft, refused to cave. "I didn’t want the police department telling me how to parent my child," Jackson tells CBS. "I couldn’t believe they would go to this extent for a cell phone." WFAA reports Jackson was facing six months in jail and a $2,000 fine, but on Tuesday, the judge ruled there wasn't enough evidence to keep the case open and ordered the jury to file a not-guilty verdict. But Jackson tells WFAA the trial completely ended his relationship with his now 15-year-old daughter, who took the stand to testify against him. Meanwhile, Jackson's attorney plans to file a complaint alleging the Grand Prairie PD violated Jackson's civil rights. CBS reports Jackson never did give his daughter her cell phone back. (This NFL star's headline-grabbing parenting move got mixed reviews.)