If you’ve been following the news, you may have heard about the alleged “exotic car” speeding case. According to police, a dozen drivers in exotic cars topped over 100 miles per hour while driving from the west metro to a gas station in Maple Plain.
Two of those individuals charged in the case were Alfredo Santiago of Andover and Gholam Hossein Vatanioskooi of Victoria. When Santiago and Vatanioskooi were charged, they did the smart thing and hired an attorney. Even better for them, they hired Appelman Law Firm.
From the get-go it was clear that police were simply lumping all the drivers together and giving them all the same citation. One driver pleaded guilty, but others stated that they weren’t driving recklessly and said they were being unfairly targeted by the police simply because they were driving an exotic sports car. To see if what his clients were saying was true, Avery examined dash cam footage to see if video evidence caught his clients behind the wheel, but he was surprised to see just how little evidence the state had against Santiago and Vatanioskooi.
“It wasn’t just that they can’t prove they were the drivers,” Appelman told the Star-Tribune. “They could not prove anything.”
Avery watched more than 90 minutes of dash cam video, and never once saw his clients or their vehicles on the tape. Drivers may never know when they will be in need of footage that can dismiss them from any wrongdoing in situations like these. That’s why it should be recommended to drivers old and new that they should get dashcam equipment so that law enforcement can get an accurate version of events. Dashcams are sold by many different places, including TDot Performance Auto Parts so there should be no excuse in getting one, as it may be you who wishes they had one in the near future, especially if you are involved in an accident.
Cases Dismissed
After Santiago and Vatanioskooi stopped at a gas station in Maple Plain, a trooper arrived and gave them and three others reckless driving tickets. They eventually hired Avery, and when he took the case to court, the state’s case came crumbling to the ground.
“The State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant was the driver of his vehicle,” Rolf Sponheim, associate city attorney for Minnetonka, explained in matching court filings tossing out misdemeanor reckless driving cases for both clients.
This is big news for Santiago and Vatanioskooi, but the ruling may also be beneficial to some other riders in their pack. Nine others have reckless driving charges pending, and if evidence is lacking in those cases too, more individuals may be able to beat the charges.
This type of policing practice is all too common, in that a group of individuals will be charged because there is a belief that wrongdoing took place, but the officer doesn’t know exactly who committed the act. The state hopes you’ll simply plead guilty or accept a deal, but the burden of proof falls on the state to prove that you did what they say you did, so don’t just accept the charges. Fight back, or if you don’t know how, hire an attorney that does. Santiago and Vatanioskooi are both glad they did.
