Another Misguided DUI Driver Makes a Failed Attempt to Bribe a Cop

By guest-writer

Just one week after one drunk driver made headlines for trying to bribe his way out of a DUI ticket, another intoxicated driver made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase a “get out of jail free” card.

Ashley Anderson, a 21-year-old resident of Orlando, Florida, was pulled over by police for driving while intoxicated at about 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel.

Anderson was initially pulled over for traveling 12 miles per hour about the speed limit. And sources say that she could have simply been charged with a misdemeanor if she had handled the arrest in a responsible fashion. Anderson, however, did not handle the arrest in a wise manner.

After police pulled her over, she refused to leave the car, forcing the officer to ask her multiple times to leave her vehicle.

When she kept refusing to leave her 2008 Nissan Altima, the arresting officer reached for her ignition, grabbed the keys, opened her door, and pulled her out by her left arm. The officer later stated in his report that he feared that Anderson would try to flee the scene.

When he pulled Anderson from the car, the state trooper reported that he smelled an “obvious odor” of alcohol on her breath, and he also claims that she stumbled on the ground when she left the car and had difficulty walking to the police cruiser.

A quick search of the Altima after the arrest revealed a nearly empty bottle of tequila in Anderson’s car. Carrying an open bottle of liquor in a car is illegal in almost every state.

But despite her arrest, and the discovery of the tequila in her car, Anderson was still only facing a misdemeanor DUI charge. That is, until she opened her mouth.

Sources say that when the trooper put Anderson in the back of his car, she made several attempts to offer him $3,000 in exchange for letting her go. According to the police report, she told the officer, “[w]hatever I owe you, I can just pay you in cash.”

In an effort to convince the officer, Anderson claimed that she had escaped a previous DUI charge by giving the officer $2,000, although there is no way to confirm this story.

Needless to say, the officer in this case declined her offer, and prosecutors will now level an extra charge against Anderson for attempting to bribe a law enforcement officer, which is a felony in Florida.

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Chicago Driver Arrested After Trying to Bribe his way out of DUI

By guest-writer

A Chicago driver made life a bit more difficult for himself after he made an unsuccessful attempt to bribe his way out of a DUI arrest, according to a recent report from the Chicago Tribune.

Of course, trying to bribe the police officer may not have been the dumbest move Martin Johnson made on that fateful night.

Sources say that Johnson was arrested after allegedly speeding past a police station while under the influence of alcohol. When police finally caught up to his car, a brief search of the vehicle revealed that Johnson had an open bottle of liquor in the front seat.

Then things got really interesting. According to the police report, after the police pulled him over, Johnson said, “I’ll give you $5,000 if you’ll let me go.”

In response, one of the officers asked Johnson where he planned to get the money, at which point he handed over a flash drive and told the police officers to look into it.

When the police later went through the flash drive, they were surprised to discover extensive lists of credit card numbers, Social Security identities, and other types of sensitive financial information.

When the police asked Johnson where he had obtained the information, he finally made a wise choice, and simply told them to “talk to my lawyer.”

For his actions, Johnson will be charged with one count of bribery, one count of driving under the influence, and another county of driving on a revoked license.

Remarkably, Johnson has been arrested eight times since 2001 for driving with a revoked license, so he may be facing an eventual permanent driving ban if he finds the right judge.

In addition, Johnson has also been arrested for a DUI three times before. These arrests occurred in 2001, 2003, and 2006, according to a spokesman for the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.

And Johnson could face further charges stemming from his possession of all the financial information on the flash drive, although police authorities have not yet decided what they will charge him with.

The lesson other drivers can learn from Johnson’s mishap is that, if you are arrested for a DUI, it’s in your best interests to simply be a good sport and not give the police officers any trouble.

Attempts to bribe the police or escape from them altogether almost never have happy endings, and only compound the legal troubles that the arrestee will eventually face.

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