Posts tagged: speeding
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Traffic officers along Interstate 84 in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge say a lead-footed driver was in such a hurry to make a court date on a meth possession charge that he racked up $2,000 worth of speeding tickets in an hour.
Police say 34-year-old Jose Romero-Valenzuela of Las Vegas, Nev., was zooming west Wednesday morning and got pulled over three times — first at 105 mph, then at 98 mph and finally at 92 mph.
Police say the last ticket appeared to have an effect. Down the road a bit, a trooper set up watch and clocked him at the limit, 65 mph.
Besides fines and penalties, police say his license could be suspended for up to 90 days if he's found guilty on the citation alleging driving in excess of 100 mph.
Police confirm he was indeed scheduled for a court appearance later Wednesday in Oregon City, south of Portland.
A motorist stopped for driving 83 mph in a 70 mph zone Monday was arrested on felony charges after Spokane County sheriff's deputies found marijuana and a loaded pistol in the vehicle.
A Spokane man was arrested Sunday after his 2004 Ford Mustang struck an Oregon State Police trooper and knocked the trooper to the ground, officials said. 
Jacob John Melton, 31, (pictured) was pulled over for traveling 85 mph in a 65 mph speed zone on Interstate 84 west of The Dalles, according to the Wasco County Sheriff's Office.
OSP Trooper Mark Jubitz was talking to Melton after issuing him a traffic citation when Melton accelerated to leave, according to police reports. His Mustang fishtailed on the gravel shoulder and knocked Jubitz to the ground.
The incident occurred at about 1:17 p.m. Melton stopped and remained at the scene as Jubitz radioed for help.
Jubitz was treated for minor injuries at an area hospital and released.
Melton was arrested for reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person and attempted assault on a public safety officer. He was booked into a correctional facility in The Dalles.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris has been cited with driving 118 mph on a suspended license.
Oregon State police say Harris, 20, was pulled over after an off-duty trooper spotted him about 4:35 a.m. PDT Sunday on Interstate 5 south of Albany, Ore. An on-duty officer clocked Harris and pulled him over.
Harris was cited for driving with a suspended license and exceeding the speed limit in excess of 100 mph. Police say he was driving a rental car.
The fine for driving a vehicle faster than 100 mph is $1,148.
Harris excelled as a sophomore last season at cornerback and on special teams. He had six interceptions and set an Oregon record with four punt returns for touchdowns.
Known for his entertaining banter with reporters, Harris dubbed the BCS championship “The Natty.” Oregon lost to Auburn in the title game in January after going 12-0 last season.
Oregon coach Chip Kelly said in a statement that the team was disappointed by Harris' lack of judgment, which he called unacceptable.
“I've said from the beginning that it should be a privilege to play football at the University of Oregon. With that said, individuals must bear the responsibilities for their own behavior,” Kelly said. “Once we have finished collecting all the information in this situation, we will determine the appropriate action.”
Last month, Oregon linebacker Kiko Alonso pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of trespassing and criminal mischief. He was sentenced to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and alcohol treatment.
Alonso, 20, was suspended indefinitely from the team by Kelly.
HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Motorists are off the hook for more than 900 speeding tickets automatically issued by a mobile police camera in southwest Ohio.
The camera had been stationed in a park in Hamilton on April 2 at the same time a youth soccer tournament, the Mid-American Soccer Classic, was being held.
Police Chief Neil Ferdelman tells The JournalNews of Hamilton that he canceled the tickets because of the tournament, which he says drew many out-of-towners who were unaware the camera was in use.
The tournament's director says there would have been consequences for next year's event if Hamilton had decided to pursue the tickets.
At $95 each, the 900 tickets would have totaled more than $86,000. The chief says 70 of the tickets were mailed. Those motorists have been sent letters telling them: never mind.
A police chase through downtown ended this morning because officers deemed it too dangerous, but the suspect was arrested 30 minutes later.
Leroy K. Berra, 44, was stopped just before 3 a.m. near Monroe Street and Shannon Avenue and arrested for drunken driving, driving while suspended and for cocaine found in his pants pocket.
His female passenger told officers she feared for her safety during the earlier pursuit, which began when Officer Scott Lesser tried to stop Berra's speeding gray Chevrolet Suburban about 2:30 a.m. in downtown Spokane, police said.
The Suburban had ran red lights without slowing down, and Berra looked at Lesser and accelerated once Lesser tried to stop him. Lesser ended the pursuit because Berra driving “was so reckless that it presented a danger to vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” police said.
Berra faces an unlawful imprisonment charge for not allowing his passenger out of the car during the chase, according to a news release.
He was arrested on the same charge in July 2001 after a woman called police and said he would not let her out of the car as he sped away from police on Fort George Wright Drive, according to news archives.
Berra is due in Superior Court this afternoon.
PARIS, Tenn. (AP) — When a Henry County deputy finally stopped a speeding car on the wrong side of a highway, he found it had been driven by a 77-year-old grandmother.
Not that the stop was easy, reports The Paris Post-Intelligencer.
Barely an hour into the new year, Lt. Stan Pinson saw the car headed the wrong way in the northeast-bound lanes of divided Highway 79 northeast of Paris.
Pinson says driver Syble Dickens ignored the blue lights and siren, dodged spike strips and finally pulled over, saying she was still having “a good time.”
She's charged with DUI, speeding, reckless endangerment and failure to yield. Her 29-year-old grandson is charged with public intoxication. He slept through the chase.
Both are to appear in court Thursday.
A Chewelah man was arrested in Oregon on Halloween with 12 pounds of marijuana.
Kristopher Lewis Sasse, 24, was a passenger in a rented 2010 Toyota Camry driven by Angela Caitlin Chilcott, 26, of Felton, Calif., when they were stopped for speedin
g at milepost 252 on Interstate 5, near Salem, according to the Oregon State Police.
A drug dog helped find about 12 pounds of marijuana in the car, which state troopers say had Arizona license plates.
Sasse and Chilcott were booked into the Marion County Jail for unlawful possession and distribution of marijuana.
The bust comes about 10 days after a Spokane man was arrested with 20 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Highway 97 in Central Oregon.
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