Would you know if I was given a summons to appear in court for driving an unregistered vehicle, but the officer didn't fill in the entire statute #, and didn't check the box that states I have to appear in court, will that summons hold up in court ? Thanks for any replies. You can read my sad story here:
This is embarassing, but I bought my '02 from a lady in North Carolina.
It was on eBay, and we spoke on the phone, and she agreed to end the auction early to sell me the car at an agreed upon price.
She is 35 years old, and sounded oh so sweet with her southern drawl.
Well, I fell for it .
I wired all the money to her business account that day, and she said as soon as she pays off the loan, she would send out the title.
Well...... I FINALLY received the title yesterday, three months and 9 days after paying in full for the car .
I made numerous phone calls, and sent numerous emails, and she came up with one excuse after another.
Originally she told me the title was lost in the mail, and she had to apply for a duplicate title. Well, that was all BS, as I later found out.
NOTE: I had the car shipped to me and had it in my garage right after paying the $$.
So, I had the car, and she left her NC tag on it so I could drive it around until I got the title.
While driving one day, I was stopped and given a summons for an unregistered vehicle ! In Florida, you have 30 days to register the car once you buy it, and at this point I had it for 3 months.
All the excuses she made sounded legit.... to a point.
Then, through NC DMV, I was able to find a sympathic woman to assist me. She made a contact at the bank where the loan was. I finally spoke with the woman at the bank, and was able to find out that this woman/company does this on a regular basis.
The bank then contacted the owner and told them to bring down certified funds to pay off the car... so to prolong the situation, they bring down a company check, which is returned later for insufficient funds
Then.... the bank calls them again, and tells them if they don't bring in certified funds today, they will be calling the magistrate ( I guess they could be arrested for fraud at this point). Well, that day the did bring in certified funds, and the car was finally paid off.
Bank policy states the title cannot be sent out for 10 - 15 business days after receiving payoff
So, after 3 months and 9 days, I received the title yesterday. I ran down to DMV to register the car, and everything went smoothly .
I learned a very valuable lesson during this ordeal. I was taken in by her sweet - talking and promises.
You must send funds directly to the bank to be certain they receive it. This woman was "playing" with my money for over 3 months. I don't know what she was doing with it, but that's another story.
I breathed a sigh of relief after installing my own tag on the rear of the car.
MY NIGHTMARE IS OVER Learn from my mistake.
_______

 

Try a ticket attorney...

 

I would suggest you contact the court where you were susposed to appear on your summons or that had jurisdiction over your case. See if there is anything outstanding in your name. It can't be too serious, so just get it taken care of so you can enjoy your Vette without worry..I am not in Fla. but sounds like you have been through enough.
Good Luck and
Stay safe

 

Alan,

Unfortunately for you, the summons will still be valid. The judge or magistrate has the option in court of dismissing the case or allowing the officer to ammend the citation.
You stated summons to appear. If this is the case, the SAO (State attorney) will be initially responsible for dismissing the case.

My question is
1) How did the officer know you owned the vehicle?
2) How did he/she know it had been in the state for over 30 days?
3) Do they know the entire story behind the violation.

If you admitted anything re: #1 & 2 above...you might be screwed :crazy:

Although all the "reasons" in the world do not make a violation acceptable, there are certainly mitigating circumstances that would allow reason and common sense to be factored in. I wouldn't normally recommend this, but maybe setting an appoitnment with the State Attorney assigned the case might help. Depending on lyour previous arrest and/or traffic record adn your position in the community (yes...Politics), you might be able to convince the SAO to nolle prosse or LOR the case (letter of release).
If you do decide to take this route, please remember, they work for the State (ie: the prosecution) and anything you say may be used against you at a later date :yesnod: .

With that in mind, an attorney that specializes in criminal traffic cases might be a better solution. These guys are in front of the judges on a regular basis and in many cases, are golfing/drinking/?? buddies with the ASA's.
If you don't think this matters, you ought to hear them on the phone :D .

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. If the initiating officer was aware of the circumstances, then IMHO...he/she was just makin' quota :rolleyes: ...keepin' the Sarge off thier backs!

Alright now...don't everybody start Bi****n about the term "quotas." It's just a term for someone too lazy top go out and make a better case!... :crazy:

Good luck :cheers: Let us know how everything turns out.
:seeya :flag

P.S. you have mail

 

1). He knew I owned the vehicle because I showed him my bill of sale which I carried in the trunk. I figured it was the only way I could show ownership because I had no registration from the seller.
2). The bill of sale was dated June 17, so he knew when I paid for it.
3). I explained the entire story to the officer, and he was quite understanding, and I was quite surprised when he started writing !!!!
I have emailed with C5StateTrooper who is in northern Florida, and he said this: At the time the officer stopped me, the car was still registered to the seller, the license plate was still valid, etc., so it WAS a registered vehicle at that time (just not to me). So basically, I was just driving someone else's car.
I contacted NC DMV and have gotten a print-out showing the vehicle is STILL registered to the seller, because they are unable to get Florida info on their computers.
I can also prove that the car was not paid off until Sept. 9, and the bank didn't send the title to the seller until Sept. 23. I recieved the summons on Sept. 14, and didn't receive the title until Sept. 26.
So that will be my defense.... that I was driving a legally registered vehicle with valid plates. I have contacts at both the bank where the loan was held, and North Carolina DMV, both of whom know of my ordeal, and will provide that information to the judge when I see her.
The fact of the matter is... did I really own the car if the seller didn't pay off the loan ? My position is NO. I had the car in my posession, but she still had it registered in her name.
Thanks for your concern.

 

Looks like you have an excellent point there and good going Trooper :cheers:

IF nothing else, the convoluted story will likely so confuse the judge/magistrate, they'll dismiss it just to get you out of the courtroom :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Let us know how you make out

Good luck
:cheers: :seeya :flag

 

[QUOTE]
IF nothing else, the convoluted story will likely so confuse the judge/magistrate, they'll dismiss it just to get you out of the courtroom :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: /QUOTE]
I was thinking the exact same thing :lol: :lol: :lol: . It may take me a few hours to explain the whole thing, so they probably won't like that too much either :lol: I will post the results of my court appearance... if I am able to get to a computer, that is :lol:

 

Keep us updated!!!