AVOID this happening to you…so hire Fiumara Law , PC if you are charged with any CA Vehicle Code Violation or you could be facing this…
On October 19th, 2015 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department conducted an undercover ‘Court Sting’ operation at the Sonoma County Courthouse, targeting suspected drivers whose licenses where suspended/revoked or who were unlicensed drivers.
Police officers staked out offenders who had been told by a judge not to drive and/or who had been told of their license suspension. This is done by going to each courtroom on the second floor of the California Superior Courthouse and checking the Court calendar to determine which defendants had pending 12500 VC, 14601 and other pending California Vehicle Code (VC) violations. Thirteen offenders were followed by officers from courtrooms to their vehicles to ensure that they were not driving.
THAT IS WHY WE TELL ALL THOSE DEFENDANTS WHO ARE CHARGED WITH THESE OFFENSES/ CHARGES TO CALL OUR OFFICE SO THAT WE MAY MAKE THE APPEARANCE FOR YOU! IT SAVES YOU A LOT OF $$$ MONEY $$$! While some offenders complied with the law and had alternate means of transportation, six individuals proceeded to get behind the wheel and drove away from the courthouse.
Those who chose to drive were stopped by waiting officers. Among those stopped for driving while suspended or unlicensed then cited back into court were:
Roberto Nunez Munoz, a 30 year old Santa Rosa resident, for driving without a license.
Ian Alexander Myers, a 31 year old Rio Nido resident, for driving on a suspended license.
Fernando Garcia Cova, a 26 year old Sonoma resident, for driving on a suspended license.
Francisco Anaya Ortega, a 30 year old Rohnert Park resident, for driving on a suspended license.
Sonia Abarca Cruz, a 30 year old Santa Rosa resident, for driving without a license.
Noe Lopez Perez, a 34 year old Santa Rosa resident, for driving without a license.
According to the SRPD Community Press Release–Those arrested today could face additional jail time, long driver license suspensions, along with other financial hits including attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job or job prospects. In addition, having your vehicle impounded and maybe even sold is not what many of the poorest people in this county can afford—Says Attorney Michael A. Fiumara.
The official police position is that the Court Sting stakeout operations, along with regularly scheduled high visibility DUI enforcement, serve as a proven deterrent with the goal of keeping impaired drivers from the road and heightening awareness among the public of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. HOWEVER, OUR LAW FIRM BELIEVES THAT THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS PURPORTED GOAL since here none of the 6 individuals were “impaired” or drunk. They were merely caught without a valid California driver’s license which is probably more attributable to poverty and other reason than driving while drunk.
SO call us next time you are charged with any California Vehicle Code violations at 707 571-8600 or in our Marin Office, 760-832-6118. Save yourself time and money.
****This special DUI Court Sting operation which yielded the abovementioned arrests was funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
