REPEAT OFFENDER 2: SELLING A CAR
by John Lee
Before going to prison I believed that criticism of the criminal justice system for its treatment of the poor was so much liberal bleating and bunk. I was wrong. --FBI agent and White House attorney G. Gordon Liddy
What happens to someone with a prior history of multiple DWI convictions? What happens after someone has already lost their license to drive, and does not even own a car?
Bo is a 30 year old mechanic, with a wife and young son. They live in rural Burlynn County. He has had five prior DWI convictions, none of which included trial by an impartial jury. He has no driver's license. He has given up on driving, relying on his wife to get back and forth to work.
One day, while working in his yard, a young man pulled up in his driveway. A young girl was also in the car.
The young man asked to purchase Bo's old car, that had been sitting in the front yard for several months. Bo agreed to sell the car, for a price of $200, but warned the customer that the old car had some electrical problems. The customer said that was okay, and that he planned to fix the car up and resell it for a profit. They agreed to do business.
The customer paid Bo $200 cash, and Bo turned over the keys and title. The customer said he would return in a few days to pick the car up.
The next day, when Bo gets home from work, the car is already gone. The car had some personal belongings in it, but that was okay, since it was good to get rid of the old car. Bo had not gotten a bill of sale, nor a copy of the customer's driver license, so he could not locate the person to get his belongings back.
One week later, Trooper Richard Smalley showed up at Bo's home. Mr. Smalley claimed that Bo had led him on a chase and wrecked his police car. Bo stated to Mr. Smalley that he was not now the owner of the old car. Bo stated that he had sold the car, to whom he did not know, for $200 cash. Mr. Smalley called Bo a liar.
Bo was charged with Aggravated Assault, Fleeing, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Damage to State Property, and Driving on a Revoked License.
Mr. Smalley alleged Bo led him on a high speed chase, after attempting to stop the delapidated old car for a burned out tail light. Mr. Smalley alleged Bo rammed into his police cruiser several times, causing more than $1,000 damage to the new government vehicle (was the driver traveling in reverse?). During the chase, a female was thrown from the moving vehicle. Mr. Smalley abandoned the injured female on the side of the road, and continued his chase. Mr. Smalley never did get a look at the driver, who eventually wrecked the old car and successfully fled on foot.
Mr. Smalley arrested Bo, who was then released on $10,000 bond ($1,000 non-refundable cash insurance policy).
Mr. Smalley was trying to prosecute Bo for criminal acts which totaled 15 years in prison, without ever actually witnessing Bo committing any crime (he never got a look at the driver's face), or conducting a simple, but time consuming (and "unprofitable"), investigation.
Bo went to court. Mr. Smalley alleged he had a statement from the girl that was in the car, and Bo's vehicle tag, which Bo didn't know was on in the car when it was sold and the buyer picked up the car early.
When the public defender arranged a plea bargain with the assistant district attorney, Mr. Smalley became livid, screaming, "You don't know who you're messing with!"
The district attorney and public defender worked out a plea bargain of 12 days in jail plus fines and court costs (the public defender's fee was $150), adding up to $1,800, plus $1,000 cash bond, for a total cost of around $3,000. (About the same cost as for another DWI.)
Bo had consulted with a proper attorney, who advised him a proper defense with a real trial by impartial jury would cost him $7,000, plus the national income taxes paid on earning that much money (it's not tax-deductable), for a total of $9,000, which he could not afford.
So, despite the false charges by Mr. Smalley, Bo pled guilty to something he did not do, borrowed money on a credit card and paid other costs through the court's installment plan. He also felt it was simply too much of a gamble, with the stakes so incredibly high, though not having the funds to hire a defense was the main reason. It is general knowledge among fellow judges, lawyers and court victims that "Crazy Judge Weiner" was an alcoholic who drank liquor in his courtroom while judging his fellow citizens, and who was allegedly arrested for DWI on numerous occasions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville, Tennessee, declined an investigation, alleging, "It's up to the voters to get rid of him. We don't do that kind of investigation." This is despite recent news headlines of Tennessee judges arrested for rape, dealing crack cocaine and stealing general sessions court funds.
His only "crime" was selling a car without getting his customer's background information, which of course is no crime at all.
Yet Trooper Smalley had told this author a different story, that although the girl had been thrown (or jumped) from the moving vehicle, she had refused to file a statement against the driver.
We had that same unfortunate problem at a new car dealership I had worked at. A customer traded in a car, and left his license tag on the car. The salesman threw it in the trash, instead of destroying the tag or returning it to the previous customer (as he was supposed to do). Someone recovered it from the trash, and it ended up on another vehicle that was involved in selling stolen property. The customer called the dealership from jail, and the dealership had to explain to the police that it was our fault, not the customer's fault, and the customer was then released from jail. [Interviews]
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