Halfrican

So I just got a letter in the mail from Lynchburg Regional Juvenile Courts saying that I have been charged with a class 1 or 2 misdemeanor which has a penalty of up to a year in jail and or a 2500 dollar fine....and I'm freaking out.

I'm calling the court appointed lawyer on Monday but I need some reassurance until then that I'm not going to jail for this.

Story goes as follows...

Parked at Cold Stone, came out to the intersection at Wards Rd. at a red light. STOPPED in the turn right lane. I look left and see two cars getting into the turning lane, and seeing no one being them, I turn into the lane next to me which isn't even a real traffic lane, its a turn off lane into the LifeWay Christian bookstore and Car wash. I begin to merge to my left and all of a sudden a car is right next to me, so without hitting it, I come back into the turn off lane and out of NO WHERE a cop flips on his lights DIRECTLY behind me at that exact moment.

At this point I'm shaking a little because I almost just merged into someone (which looked like a light blue under cover cop car, like the one old ladies drive) and I immediately stop and turn into the carwash. I'd like to emphasize that I WAS NOT showing off, burning out, drifting, or speeding...just completely missed the car and the obvious police officer behind that person. The officer walks to my window, and stays back enough that I can't even see him... I'm fumbling for my registration and license...my gf is in the car next to me asking what the hell I did wrong that I just got pulled over for. Officer G, skips the decencies and walks back to his car where he sits for TWENTY-FOUR MINUTES! where I can only imagine he must have been looking for something else to call me on or something. Finally he comes back up to the window (my hands are still on the steering wheel, and I'm still freaking out and shaking a bit) and asks me to get out of the car, but he still stays back away from my car...not like I was being shady or anything like that. I walk over to the hood of his charger, he tells me I almost killed someone, I'm getting a summons from court and to sign here. No more, no less, when I tried to tell him what happened, he just repeated I almost killed someone, so I signed and got back in the car. Girlfriend tells me she knows I stopped, and watched me look and didn't see anyone coming either (she's a bit of a passenger/driver sometimes) and tells me it'll all be ok....and tries to get my to calm down the rest of the night...which I did.

The ticket stays "Failure to stop/yield" and today I received this letter from the court saying its a class one or two misdemeanor and I'm bloody freaking out.

I checked the next day that there are two traffic cameras pointed at that exact location, but do not know if it'll help any.



I'm 17, white male, non-ricer, freshman in college and...idk what the fuck to do. Someone tell me I'm not going to jail. If you need any other information just ask.
My car is a Mr2, non modified, but is for sale because it seems to GRASP attention from police officers.

nftuatn

did your girlfriend help you in any way to "relieve the tension"of the ticket??

if not she may be to blame...

ufctapout

I think you're fine man. Just make sure to pay it on time. There are so many dirtbags out there that skip out on paying tickets, that I think courts/police departments feel the need to throw in the fear factor to get you to pay. If it was a felony, I'd say you should be worried. But not in this case.

TexasGlock23

I had a ticket similar which actually resulted in a wreck. The ticket was $96 IIRC.

Halfrican

I'm a juvenile does this effect it in any way? The gf helped me a lot actually lol....

but um why the hell did they send me this bs about going to jail and paying 2500 dollars?

f-av8

I'd be freaking out to

ufctapout

Ever notice the warning at the very beginning of a DVD? Copyright infringement punishable by 345257 years in prison or $99,000,000 fine? Like I said, scare tactic.

madsteez

Its not shit just go to court and explain the situation. Have you ever had any other moving violation?



and wtf freshmen in college at 17?

ufctapout

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...0+cod+46.2-821

staticv0id

It's not BS, but like someone said, it's really nothing you should worry about, the courts will always list what the MAXIMUM penalty that can be imposed for the crime (yes, traffic violations are criminal offenses) you committed. If you read it thoroughly like you have already, it will always say something along the lines of 'UP TO' right before it lists the penalties.

Edit: I went ahead a did some work for you, the traffic violation is prepay-able, as someone has probably told you already. If you live in the county of Fairfax (I think Loudoun County is similar in fines and processing fees, but I am not 100% sure), here's the prepayment information:

Offense: Failure to stop and yield when approaching intersection of highway controlled by stop sign
Statute: 46.2-821
Fine: $30
Processing Fee: $62
Total: $92

There are two different 'Failure to stop and yield' violations, this one looks like it pertains more in your circumstances according to your story, the other pertains more to entering a public highway from private roads. It's really not that big of a deal (your not going to go to jail so don't sweat it... well at least I've never heard of anyone going to jail for a prepay-able traffic violation, but you never know ), you can prepay it and forget it (its going to cost your license some points though), or if you think you can win, fight it in court.