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Friday, November 13, 2009
Ind. Decisions - "Driving infraction sentences slashed for Elkhart man"
The COA Nov. 10th NFP decision in the case of Ray Bean, Jr. v. State of Indiana is the subject of a story today in the Elkhart Truth. Justin Leighty reports:
ELKHART -- The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld two driving convictions against an Elkhart man this week, though they cut his sentence drastically because he made significant efforts to comply with the law.The convictions against Ray Bean, Jr., 50, formerly of 2410 Wood St., came from two traffic stops in Elkhart in 2007.
When an Elkhart Police officer stopped Bean on Harrison Street that June, Bean told the officer the Yamaha Zuma was legal for him to drive and qualified as a "motorized bicycle," which habitual traffic violators can drive under the law.
The officer tried to explain that the scooter's engine was too big to qualify. That officer didn't arrest Bean at the time, but got prosecutors to file a charge.
Two months later another officer stopped Bean, again on the scooter, and arrested him on the warrant and on a second charge of driving with forfeited driving privileges.
Elkhart Superior Judge George Biddlecome convicted him of both charges and sentenced him to nine years in prison.
However, the appeals court pointed out that when Bean bought the scooter, the salesman told him it would be legal and Bean also double-checked with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The Zuma's cylinder size, 49 cubic centimeters, would be legal, but the horsepower was 4.9, far higher than the 2-horsepower maximum specified under state law.
"We are convinced from the record that Bean was attempting to comply with the law by purchasing the Zuma," the three-judge panel ruled.
"Altogether, a total of nine years in the Indiana Department of Correction is inappropriate for Bean's offenses. He was operating a vehicle that, at least initially, he had reason to believe was legal for him to operate," they wrote. They ordered Biddlecome to reduce the sentence to four years in prison, two on each charge.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 13, 2009 09:12 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions