Lack of justice/lack of prosecuting actual criminals/rant

[crb]

My apologizes for the title, couldn't decide on a short version.

Flash back to March 2010:

I'm sharing my story, more as a warning to other than anything else. There are crazy people out there, and you never know what is going to happen always pay close attention to your surroundings! I am still dealing with this case it keeps getting continued, I really want some closure on it, but I don't know when an end will come. This incident really made me think it honestly did scare the hell out of me after I got stopped and he was pulled over.

I had another motorist pull a firearm on me while driving down the road. 'm guessing he pulled it because he had road rage I'm not sure though. The question of why he pulled the firearm still another's me a lot!

I'm not sure if I hand this situation right personally and wondering what you might do. I didn't follow my first instinct.

The situation I was in the big truck with my wife in the bunk sleeping. We were traveling on a six lane divided interstate where trucks are not allowed in the left lane and it was raining cats and dogs. I mean it was pouring rain!

I passed a pickup truck that was moving slow in the middle lane so i passed it on the right. I moved back to the middle lane after giving plenty of room. A few minutes pass without incident. I was traveling at or approx the speed limit in the middle lane passing cars that were in the right lane. The pickup pulls up beside my drivers door with a pistol drawn gangster style over the passengers lap pointed at the window directly at me. I apparently said "HE'S GOT A GUN" and must have said it loudly because I woke my wife from sound asleep. My first instinct was to put him into the jersey barrier(concrete wall) and pin him there until police arrive. My wife tells me "don't even think about it just call the police" I'm not sure how she knew my plan.

The scariest part was his passenger didn't even flinch when he pulled the firearm and pointed it at me which makes me think the criminal has done it many times before.

I did as my wife said and called the police. The police responded promptly and I directed them right to him. I didn't freak out until I pulled over 5 miles or so from where he was pulled over (first safe place). It hit me really hard when the officer took me back to identify the criminal. I think my heart stopped when they pulled him out for me to identify. Over a year later and I'm still dealing with this because it took almost a year for them to serve the warrant. I hope this is over soon so I can have a little peace of mind.

I unfortunately can't carry on the truck. (company policy)

**********

July 2010 prosecutor issues warrant and presses charges.

I communicate with victim advocate, police, etc July 2010 through early April 2011. I got the run around oh that's nor our job so and do is supposed to serve warrant. I got sick of the run around in march 2011 I called and emailed the governor, attorney general , state police, sheriff, both police department, and prosecutor. Magically warrant got served within like 48 hrs. I got multiple responses that the warrant was served. I thought great we can get this show on the roaD. NOT!

Case was continued 6 or so times until approx March 2012. This time I was subpoenaed and showed up to a pretrial which was waived and I talked gave my side to prosecutor and defense attorney.

I was informed by the defense attorney that basically his clients story is that he flipped me off and drew his gun and our it on the center console at some point due to it was causing him pain. Basically the defendant claims I saw the gun on the console and saw he flipped me off and made the rest up (summarizing). Ha!,

Case gets continued several more times until October 2012.

Bad news, the prosecutor has decided to postpone taking the case to trial for 3 years. As long as the defendant does get any new charges for 3 yrs the prosecutor will completely drop the charges. Which means nothing will be on his record concerning this case if he keeps his nose clean for 36 months. He had to forfeit the firearm used in the crime and isn't allowed to process a firearm for 3 yrs.

I'm not happy with this especially since our run has us through his area multiple times a week. Wide says look at all the time and money he has lost. I'm nor happy because he makes us firearm owners look bad and be side in 36 months he can carry a firearm again even though he had proven himself unworthy. A felony conviction would have kept him from legally being allowed to carry again.

***********

This ordeal truly disturbs me. The justice system is truly messed up. I'm not sure this man will learn that this in inappriote. Basically he will get off nearly Scott free if he behaves for 36 months. On a side note where dis the term Scott free come from? Who is Scott and why is he associated with free?

Rant over. (I think) thanks for allowing me to vent and share.

 

[wolf_fire]

I know my words won't provide any solace to you since you are in a bad situation. My only question for you, is there a better legal system out there in the world? Ours definitely has its problems and justice is many times not served, but I'd rather have rights and freedoms that this country provides than, let's say be in France where the cops arrest you and you must prove your innocence. Good luck with everything, and maybe he will screw up in the next 36 months. This a$$ sounds like he is a loose cannon and will probably do something stupid again.

 

[crb]

I know my words won't provide any solace to you since you are in a bad situation. My only question for you, is there a better legal system out there in the world? Ours definitely has its problems and justice is many times not served, but I'd rather have rights and freedoms that this country provides than, let's say be in France where the cops arrest you and you must prove your innocence. Good luck with everything, and maybe he will screw up in the next 36 months. This a$$ sounds like he is a loose cannon and will probably do something stupid again.

I agree we have the best system I know of. No I don't want to have to prove our way innocent. A trial would have been nice, this just doesn't feel like closure. The weird part is I was completely calm until I parked the truck. Once it was over it hits you like a ton of bricks, if he hit a pot hole I or my wife could have been shot or killed. I had a hard time getting moving after it was over. Getting in the driver's seat almost made me sick, but I was 600 miles from home. I drove long enough to give the wife get break and she took over.

You are right about the loose canon part I'm afraid. I thought he was gonna get shot by the police. He pulled over and jumped out walking quickly towards the squad car before the officers were even completely out of their cars.

I still wonder if he is somebody.

I hope this ordeal changes his outlook, maybe he will never do it again. Let's hope!

 

[Deserteagle]

If the prosecutor is giving the guy 3 years to prove he can be crime free, it most likely means he does not have a criminal history and they are giving him an opportunity to keep it that was so long as he behaves. For other crimes I think this can be good, but for menacing this is ridiculous. What he did is a felony in my state, and I sure hope they would not let somebody off that easily.

You could always take him to civil court though...

 

[Patriot58]

The difficulty is that it's a he said/she said kind of thing. Your word against his. While we on this forum support your position, unless a 3rd party saw the same thing (cop, or another civilian as a witness) it would be difficult to prosecute.

Your cell phone was your friend in this case. Hindsight being 20/20, my suggestion would be that you should have put your phone in video record mode while your wife used her cell phone (if she had her own) to dial 911. That way you'd have evidence of the brandishing/threatening that occurred.

I'm glad that the prosecutor is taking the stance that he is. Imagine if YOU had been driving a car and someone (falsely) accused you of the same thing?

To turn the tables a little bit, I remember reading a story a few years ago of some guys in a car that felt they had been cut-off, and they called the cops saying the guy had brandished a weapon. He was pulled over a few miles down the road by the cops, but in this case he didn't have a weapon on him, but locked in a case in the trunk. That fact, plus the complainants' description of the gun not matching the gun the guy had, and he was let go (revolver vs semi-auto).

Your situation was scary, but for all the stories we hear where justice doesn't reign as it should, I think yours is probably as it should be.

 

[BC1]

Difficult case to prove. Your word versus his word. He was offered an ACD which is allowed as long as his firearm possession was lawful. You still did the right thing. Had you put him in the meidan there would have been a lawsuit and the criminal matter wouldn't have resolved any differently. You may have been charged with a vehicular assault and if that charge stuck he would certainly sue you and file a motion for a summary judgment.

Sometimes the system doesn't work but that's just the way it is.

 

[crb]

I have a wide angle dash cam now, that potentially could have caught it. I admit it is he said/he said. My problem is mire the drug out timeline honestly. He admitted to violating state law in his defense. Doesn't matter. I did all I could. I look at this way, maybe I saved somebody's life. Who knows.....

 

[crb]

Oh using my cell phone while driving in a CMV is a $2,750 fine and they can charge the company with a $13,000 fine. I could also loose my license. Handsfree use is allowed, but holding up my phone to videotape wouldn't be kosher. Plus I really wouldn't want to sit beside him obviously recording him as he could become more enraged. I feel the prosecutor deferred the charges because his lawyer kept continuing it out. I talked to the prosecutor personally he was set on trying the case. He also specifically mentioned he doesn't bring charges in cases he has no chance of winning. He said he doesn't like to waste tax dollars. I'm guessing he deferred the case to cut the spending.

 

[JCliff]

As pointed out by others, the prosecutor is unlikely to take this to court (with attendant expenses) with so low a probability of conviction on evidence that is not unequivocal. While I sympathize with you, as it stands it is simply your word against his.

By the way, it's scot-free (only one "t"). Scot (or sceot) is archaic English for tax. To get off scot-free is to get off without paying tax or penalty.