D*CK!

[Joeman68]

http://www.news-journalonline.com/breakingnews/2010/04/drug-charges-dropped-jc-france-reinstated-to-grand-am.html

[SgtPhox]

No comment.

[DaveInDaytona]

Money talks.

His mug shot seems to represent a little better.

http://www.wesh.com/2009/1008/21242512_640X480.jpg

[Joeman68]

I talked to my brother about it (who arrested him) and hes pretty upset about all of this. Im sure there was some corruption involved...

"WE OWN THIS TOWN!"
-Russell Van Richmond

[DaveInDaytona]

"Some people lead a charmed life, that's all I can say," Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood

[TurboBlew]

The bright side... every LEO in Volusia and surrounding counties probably just made him suspect #1 if hes cruising around.

[Kris]

Im not sure how many have the balls to actually step up and arrest someone that has a lot of pull like that, +1 to joe brother

[O Holy P]

Ridiculous...

[ClevelandWheeler]

Oh wow he got off? I never would have seen that coming.

[chaplain220]

Somebody's got some dirt on somebody else. Corruption. Nice to know we can count on the justice system.

[daytonajoker]

Lambert won the supression hearing because the Assistant State Atty failed to present testimony to establish the "Fellow Officer Rule" as it applies to "in hot pursuit".....the Judge based his ruling only on the testimony at the hearing(not the News Journal) and the law....maybe the State Atty got a big donation when he ran against Tanner last year....ever think of that

[03GSXR600]

Mayfield was kicked out of NASCAR for allegily doing drugs, but J.C. France is caught with drugs on his person and gets reinstated in one of Frances sanctioning bodies. France family this is for you :finger: :finger: :finger:

[CodeNinja]

I'd say I'm surprised, but I'm not.

[DaveInDaytona]

Police chiefs want to close geographic traffic loopholes

http://www.news-journalonline.com/images/2010/04/28/france429.jpg


DAYTONA BEACH -- A technicality that cleared race car driver J.C. France of his legal obstacles has become the driving force behind a plan that would give police more leeway to stop traffic violators in neighboring jurisdictions.

The recent decision by a circuit judge to throw out the criminal evidence against France after he was stopped for a traffic violation last October has given local police chiefs the impetus to bolster the mutual aid agreements that already exist between law enforcement agencies.

The top brass, led by South Daytona Police Chief Bill Hall, want to see an agreement that would allow officers to stop traffic violators on streets that border another jurisdiction.

As the mutual aid agreements between police stand now, officers are only allowed to enter another jurisdiction if they see someone committing a felony, not a traffic violation.

If Hall's proposal is approved by city managers and elected officials in the next months, it will add teeth to the mutual aid agreements already in place, police say.

The 44-year-old France -- grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and a Grand Am driver -- was stopped last October in Holly Hill by Daytona Beach Policeman Charles Fields.

Fields saw France run a red light at Ridgewood and Mason avenues -- which is Holly Hill's border with Daytona Beach -- then turn right and drive farther into the city.

Minutes earlier, Daytona Beach Capt. Steve Szabo saw France and his half-brother racing each other westbound on the Seabreeze Bridge, which is in Daytona Beach.

Szabo radioed ahead, referring to the street racing and alerted officers to be on the lookout for the two cars.

France was stopped in the 200 block of Ridgewood -- a block north of the Daytona Beach border -- an arrest report shows. Fields said France smelled of alcohol and he also found cocaine in his lime green Lamborghini. France was charged with DUI and possession of cocaine -- a felony -- and hauled off to the county jail.

But France's stop was unlawful, said his attorney Mike Lambert, because Fields was outside of his jurisdiction when France was pulled over.
Circuit Judge Patrick Kennedy agreed and signed an order saying that when Fields observed France run the light at Ridgewood and Mason avenues, France was already in Holly Hill. The officer should not have stopped France in another jurisdiction solely for a traffic violation.
The order suppressed all the evidence collected against France that evening.

After learning France would not face criminal charges, Hall, who is also president of the Volusia-Flagler Police Chiefs Association, called other police chiefs and discussed the idea of creating an inter-jurisdictional traffic agreement. The latter would allow officers to stop drivers committing a traffic violation on a border street with another municipality.

"It's frustrating for citizens to watch someone run a red light on a border street, and police not be able to do anything because it's not their jurisdiction," Hall said. "I'm not talking about my officers making arrests at the Volusia Mall, we're only taking about the border streets.

"The idea is long overdue," Hall said.

Currently, Hall is studying an inter-jurisdictional traffic agreement that was adopted by Broward County, so that he and his colleagues can put the proposal in writing.

So far, Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Holly Hill are on board with the plan.

"This (type of) agreement would eliminate some of the gray areas that exist with jurisdictional issues," said Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker. "We have mutual aid agreements in place, but they're only for criminal offenses. The France case shows a fundamental flaw in that (mutual aid) agreement."

Port Orange Police Chief Gerald Monahan agreed, saying situations such as the France case probably occur frequently, but it took a high-profile case to bring it to the forefront.

[Joeman68]

So glad this is being brought up. I hope this goes through all the way