Not all people are good people, but we tend to assume most people act with positive intent. There are people who will lie in order to inflict legal and reputational harm against you. We fought this member’s misdemeanor unlawful carry charge for over three years before it was finally dismissed. This is a prime example of how slowly the wheels of justice move, and of how much damage can be done by a simple unfounded accusation.
The Incident
Our member was driving home from work on a 2-lane back road when a man on a motorcycle initiated the confrontation. Our member engaged at first—made a few hand gestures and yelled back at him—but otherwise just went about his drive home as normal.
As our member continued his drive home, the motorcyclist continued to follow him.
Police Involvement
No one called 911. Why not? Because nothing had happened that was worthy of a 911 call. While the motorcyclist was following our member, they passed a police car stopped on the side of the road. The motorcyclist pulled over, flagged the officer down, and made up a story that our member had pointed a gun at him.
The motorcyclist gave the officer a description of the member’s truck and a partial license plate number. When the police found our member, they asked him if he had been involved in a road rage altercation. At first, the member didn’t even know what the police were talking about. It was such a minor incident that he had moved on with his day and forgotten about it. Then, the member realized it must have been the motorcyclist and confirmed that they had interacted. He then gave police access to his vehicle where they located the member’s carry pistol. These two things were all the police needed to corroborate the motorcyclist’s tale and arrest our member.
The Takeaway
This is a great example of how little evidence the state needs to place you under arrest. It only takes one person’s word to get you arrested in the state of Texas. The word of a lying bad guy is enough to put you through the wringer of the criminal justice system. Interestingly, this motorcyclist had a previous conviction for making a false police report. What did he lie to the police about in the past? He falsely accused a different man of pulling a gun on him! So, even a known, convicted liar can get you arrested.
Thankfully, the prosecutors eventually saw through the story and all charges against the member were dropped after three years in the legal system.
Tony M. The victim could have declined the search of his vehicle. Sans probable cause, the cop would have either iet him go or called for a drug K9 (which almost always alerts) to get into the vehicle.
Finding the pistol was the whole of the reason for the arrest. Never give permission for a search.
How in the world is there not anybody with the balls to change the way the legal system works!? It didn’t take 3 yrs to find the motorcyclists record… No excuse for the lawyers to drag this on… no reason this wasn’t dropped in a week!
OK Texas Law Shield, do something for your members and make this injustice of long, drawn out procedures stop! You can do it, you’re the lawyers, we’re not…
“Do not engage with idiots while you’re carrying.
Your firearm is for self-defense, NOT to provide false confidence in verbal confrontations.
You’re not looking for trouble, but you are prepared when real trouble finds you.”
THIS.
Words of truth, words of wisdom right there.
Why in the heck did it take 3 years to clear his name of this? That makes me apprehensive about how well the system actually works. If it took the attorneys 3 years to clear something this simple what the heck is it going to take when something major happens. Now with that said I would of course still much rather have you guys on my side than go It Alone
It’s maddening that good people are required to turn tail and run away in these kinds of circumstances. When I was a kid I took on the bully in the schoolyard and he went home with a bloody nose and that ended it. Now we have to act like the 97 pound weakling on the beach and run away or the police arrest us for standing up for ourselves. The fetters need to be taken off of we law-abiding people. We don’t need a lawyer and a cop and a courtroom and a judge to address every minor, meaningless little altercation that comes up in our lives.
Road rage requires two parties. While I am not condoning any lies that may have occurred in this instance, if you feel you have been done a disservice while you are driving and chose to take any action you are an instigator, or a party to, or a contributor to the rage.
If this was a true story, how did motorcyclist new that the truck driver had a gun? I guess only if truck driver showed him a gun! I am very disappointed that LawShield protecting actually bad guys!!!
“The most common scenario is because the false accuser does not own anything. Most folks don’t want to spend years of their life and tens of thousands of dollars to try to collect from a person who is, what the legal profession calls, ‘judgmentproof’.”
—-he has a motorcycle :)
Not always easy not to become part of road rage. Sometimes a dog gets a bone and won’t let go… Sometimes a dog has to scratch…
A few decades ago I was on a major road and I passed a slower car and the crazy person I passed got a bug up his … and he pulled up next to me on my left and started waving his hands at me and yelling at me. WHAT THE HELL! I didn’t cut him off he had his lane, I had mine. I didn’t flip him off. He then pulled in front of me so I pulled left and tried to pass him again. He kept making gestures and would match my speed, either faster and slower.
I decided to have some fun with him. I then rolled down my window and acted very angry and yelled at him: “You want a piece of me! You want a piece of me?” Then I motioned to pull over so we could duke it out. He slowed down, I pulled in behind him and he came to a full stop and got out and headed toward me. With my window down I pulled up past him and got back on the road yelling back at him that is was a fool idiot. He didn’t bother to follow me again. These idiots are too stupid to think rationally.
Now back to the point. If I was carrying, I would have called my lawyer immediately and called the police immediately and give a description of the person.
Moral of the story that the good guy missed: Defuse the bomb before it goes off. He let the bomb blow up by not contacting the police first. Road Rage may not be stopped but being the first to report it could have save 3 years…
With all do respect to those that commented above, we need to read these stories carefully. The truck drive was not “found innocent”. His charges were just dropped. The prosecutors decided that they would just not go forward. This was a “he said, he said” situation. The could not go after the motorcyclist because there was no proof that he made a false accusation. A prior lie is not proof that he lied this time. There is no “proof” that the trucker did not show his gun. Thank God the trucker had Texas Lay Shield or this would have cost him a fortune. This just shows that the best response to road rage is no response at all. It may not be what you would like to do but it is the best thing that you can do.
You can beat the rap, but you can’t beat the ride.