Ticket For The Wrong Man!

[MikeN02]

So I come home to check the mail and guess what I see? A Sheriff letter mailed to me, my heart was racing while I was holding it and I quickly went inside and opened it up.

I had not one, but two tickets. One for not wearing a helmet, and the other was going 31 in a 25 mph zone. Now I admit I go a little bit fast in the neighborhood or where 25 mph speed limits are posted but I certainly always wear a helmet. Next, the infraction was listed at a place called lake something. I've never been to that place nor do I know where that is at. Ticket was issued Thursday, June 17, 2010 and I swear I was at home sleeping before work at 4.
Also, the vehicle information was incorrect. Bike year is a 1996, Blue Suzuki. Even the tag is wrong. The only vehicles I have under my name ever is:

2002 White/Red/Black Kawasaki Ninja EX500
2009 Blue Yamaha FZ6-R
And was but not anymore
2008 Green Kawasaki Ninja 250R

In court if they played the dash cam I'm certain it won't be me. Not to mention they mailed me the ticket, if I were to get pulled over I would have gotten the ticket in person. It is weird that the police got my name on the bike, when I only had those vehicles I listed above registered when they didn't pull them over because I was mailed the ticket.
Isn't this an error on the cops part as if the person they pulled over only gave them the name then it was his fault for not matching the faces?

Keep in mind my FZ6-R is the only vehicle that I ride.

I strongly believe I should fight this ticket, anyone else agree?

 

[JSP]

If it wasnt you, then obviously you should fight it. Why pay for something and take the hit on your record for something you didnt do and werent even there for? Fight it for sure man.

 

[Roaddawg]

OF COURSE go to the courthouse and get the process going!!! Don't wait for the court date on the ticket. Go down there now before that guy racks up more tickets in your name!!! It very possible that your a victim of identity theft? Is your name, birthday, license number, descriptors all correct for you? Did you lose your license recently or anything? Do you have a common name? Don't go to court to "fight" the cop. The guy that is probably lying to the police using your information is the one to blame. The guy may be giving the cop your information, saying he forgot his license. When the cop runs the information through his dispatch, it may come back as a good match, so he uses the info. And, your picture doesn't always pop up. Here in CA, you have to run the DMV info through a separate system (Calphoto) to view a picture of the driver and it takes a while, so its not done on a 'normal' traffic stop. Also, not every police car has a dash cam.

There may be a bigger can of worms at work here. I'd go to the courthouse immediately and also call the police department where the ticket was issued and explain your dilemma. You may need to ask for them to take a report for identity theft.

 

[dart1963]

Did they have your name correct?

There should be a phone number you can call and talk with the officer on the ticket and see what is going on. You shouldn't have to waste a day in court because of a typo.

and 31 in a 25... now that's just being picky....

 

[Spunky99]

Sounds like for sure identity theft....

Is the court near you or far away?
If it's near you, you can request a trial.
If it's near or far, you can request a trial by declaration.
You can get a delay if needed but don't sit on this.

 

[dart1963]

Also, keep in mind, the driver is ticketed, not the bike. You could have been riding on a friends bike and they would ticket you, not the bike's owner. So it doesn't matter that you don't own that particular bike, they got your info somehow.

 

[MikeN02]

Sounds like for sure identity theft....

Is the court near you or far away?
If it's near you, you can request a trial.
If it's near or far, you can request a trial by declaration.
You can get a delay if needed but don't sit on this.

Yes my name is common.
Court is far away.
All of my information is correct, except the vehicle which is weird though since they mailed it to me. If I was a victim of identity theft wouldn't they pull the guy over and given him the ticket then and there instead of mailing it?

I can call the sheriff's number on the paper they mailed to me but it says all they can really do is confirm that I did get a ticket and what is on the ticket. Nothing involving the case can be discusses except at court or what not.

I gave the ticket and paper to my sister as she has been through fighting a ticket before.

And no I haven't lost any ID's or licenses, I only have one license with motorcycle endorsement on it as well and it's my main one that I keep in my wallet.

 

[JSP]

This isnt a camera ticket or anything is it? Just a regular hand written ticket?

 

[dart1963]

Yes my name is common.

All of my information is correct, except the vehicle which is weird though since they mailed it to me. If I was a victim of identity theft wouldn't they pull the guy over and given him the ticket then and there instead of mailing it?

I can call the sheriff's number on the paper they mailed to me but it says all they can really do is confirm that I did get a ticket and what is on the ticket. Nothing involving the case can be discusses except at court or what not.

You can still call and verify the ticket was meant to go to you, the fact that it is not your bike may simply mean when the ticket was written up, someone hit a typo and your info got pulled up, is the tag listed close to yours? If so, a phone call may straighten it out.

If over the phone they will not confirm this, then you have no choice but to go to court and straighten it out.
At a minimum if they are using a picture or police video, they can clearly see it is not you.
You might also have your boss jot down that you were at work on time that day, and see if it is even possible for you to have made a trip between the area where the ticket was issued and where your work is. Better to get all the info you can now while it is fresh in your mind.

 

[Roaddawg]

This isnt a camera ticket or anything is it? Just a regular hand written ticket?

I thought about that possibility too but, it couldn't be a camera ticket. How would they identify the rider with a bike not registered to him and no relation/connection to the registered owner? With red light cameras, they run the registered owners drivers license information and then match the picture to the driver in the photo. If it doesn't match, they either don't issue a ticket or require the registered owner to identify the driver of their vehicle.

Mike, is the ticket they mailed to you the original violators copy or a reminder notice for court? It would be strange that they mailed you the original copies for two separate citations. Usually, citations would be mailed to you if it was from a complaint filed with the District Attorney's office stemming from a crash or something. But, a no helmet ticket and a speeding ticket wouldn't make sense for that way to process the tickets.

I'd go down to DMV and get a copy of your driving record and see if these and any other citations are on your record. These might be the only two that got mailed to you. Get on top of it, so that a warrant doesn't get issued for you for this knucklehead's violations he's putting on your record.

 

[Back To Reality]

I don't know anything about this stuff, but I think you should challenge it...of course, I think every ticket should be challenged whether it's a case of mistaken identity or not. We didn't build the system, we just use it.

It would seem that they would have to toss the ticket on the basis of reasonable doubt.

Let us know how this turns out!

 

[MikeN02]

This isnt a camera ticket or anything is it? Just a regular hand written ticket?

I've had a hand written ticket before, it doesn't look "hand written" meaning there isn't any writing on it just printed stuff.

You can still call and verify the ticket was meant to go to you, the fact that it is not your bike may simply mean when the ticket was written up, someone hit a typo and your info got pulled up, is the tag listed close to yours? If so, a phone call may straighten it out.

If over the phone they will not confirm this, then you have no choice but to go to court and straighten it out.
At a minimum if they are using a picture or police video, they can clearly see it is not you.
You might also have your boss jot down that you were at work on time that day, and see if it is even possible for you to have made a trip between the area where the ticket was issued and where your work is. Better to get all the info you can now while it is fresh in your mind.

I don't believe the tag is close to mine. People who are under 21 have UNDER 21 underneath the tag and it's 2 numbers followed by ANU or some sort. This looks like a regular green Florida tag.
I'll ask my sister when she gets off work to give the sheriff's office a call, and I'll have my boss write/print out the schedule that I was suppose to work that thursday as well.
Like I mentioned, I don't even know where this road/drive is that I got this ticket. The only roads that I take to work I know of which is Lee Road to John Young Park Way to West Colonial to Kirkman to Vineland. Otherwise I'd go Interstate 4 until my exit on Kirkman and Vineland.
I believe the location is the opposite of where I go to work when I googled it.

I thought about that possibility too but, it couldn't be a camera ticket. How would they identify the rider with a bike not registered to him and no relation/connection to the registered owner? With red light cameras, they run the registered owners drivers license information and then match the picture to the driver in the photo. If it doesn't match, they either don't issue a ticket or require the registered owner to identify the driver of their vehicle.

Mike, is the ticket they mailed to you the original violators copy or a reminder notice for court? It would be strange that they mailed you the original copies for two separate citations. Usually, citations would be mailed to you if it was from a complaint filed with the District Attorney's office stemming from a crash or something. But, a no helmet ticket and a speeding ticket wouldn't make sense for that way to process the tickets.

I'd go down to DMV and get a copy of your driving record and see if these and any other citations are on your record. These might be the only two that got mailed to you. Get on top of it, so that a warrant doesn't get issued for you for this knucklehead's violations he's putting on your record.

It looks like the original copy, has green highlighting markers up and down it.

 

[Spunky99]

To all of you responding to this thread.

I want to thank each and every one of you for not suggesting he go to an Attorney/Lawyer/Barrister.

Taking charge of one's life and the responsibility incurred is a sign of self reliance and I applaud you all for having the spirit of brotherhood and self reliance.

Amen

 

[Detrich]

mike> ack, that totally sucks... definitely contest it and get it cleared up! and, let us know how it goes...

^ i'm completely on-board with loathing greedy, ambulance-chasing lawyers and how they completely screw up everything that is good about our society. (i've been on the receiving end of such insurance bs before too, so i know.) but, when u've done nothing wrong, i don't see any shame in getting some legal help, when warranted... it's all the frivolous lawsuits & false injury insurance claims created by lawyers that are a bunch of bs, imo...

 

[JonKerr]

Something kind of similar happened to a guy in my riding group. But it was mistaken identity, not stolen. Highway 94 gets patrolled by air sometimes. The guy in question was on a Green ZX6 in front of 3 other bikes. He saw a very fast group coming up behind them passing cars on double yellow. This group was also lead by a green ZX6 and had 3 other bikes in it. About 5 miles after letting the faster group go, they get lit up and issued tickets for passing on the DY as seen from the air patrol. I think he's still fighting it in court.

 

[Spunky99]

mike> ack, that totally sucks... definitely contest it and get it cleared up! and, let us know how it goes...

^ i'm completely on-board with loathing greedy, ambulance-chasing lawyers and how they completely screw up everything that is good about our society. (i've been on the receiving end of such insurance bs before too, so i know.) but, when u've done nothing wrong, i don't see any shame in getting some legal help, when warranted... it's all the frivolous lawsuits & false injury insurance claims created by lawyers that are a bunch of bs, imo...

I was not bashing Attorneys as they have their place and we do need them from time to time.
The post was made because I see all too often an Attorney is brought in when the problem did not warrant a legal professional. Some people think every legal issue should be examined and handled by a skilled Attorney but I believe in self reliance. Attorneys will always suggest a competent legal councilor be brought in for any legal matter but that just makes everything cost astronomically more and puts $$ in the pockets of the people that wish to make us all pay them a percentage of our earnings. Greed and avarice is what drives every Attorney I've ever met and they hate me when I face them in court and win....so far me 5 them 0....

 

[Detrich]

^ agreed... it should always be a last resort so as not to fuel the flames and make everything more costly...

 

[streetmaster]

Years ago I got a speeding fine in the mail. I knew I wasn't where the offence took place at the time as I was at work & could prove it.
A lot of these things are human error where some operator only has to key in one wrong digit from the plates (tags) & your name comes up.
In my case, They had me as owning a 1975 Red Nissan!!! (how disgusting!!). I owned a black GM Van!! I rang them & explained this, They just said "disregard the notice". Didn't hear anything else about it.
Don't just ignore it, there must be a phone # on the notice you can ring.

 

[elderproctor]

Identity Theft by a so called Friend

I was in the process of looking for a lower insurance rate with a company. They ran my information and proceeded to tell me of outstanding violations in Virginia, "I live in Maryland". One day on the phone a co-worker overheard me on the phone trying to convince the insurance company it was not me. My so called co-worker/friend began to laugh so hard til' he finally confessed.
He said that his wife did not have a license due to numerous violations and that she was using my info since we were the same build/height/ weight and they had my b-day and address.

Fight it! Do not let it go! It can be the beginning of a nightmare.

 

[MikeN02]

I know I shouldn't bring in a lawyer over something this minor until it turns big. If I do bring in a lawyer then it'll cost more than the ticket itself etc