Photo: McDonald's
Seeing how he’s already spent $1,000 to fight a $300 ticket for distracted driving, Jason Stiber could just give up and pay the ticket. But that would entail admitting to using his cellphone while driving, which he didn’t do.
The only “crime” Stiber is guilty of, according to his attorney, is eating a McDonald's hash brown while driving, NBC News reports. The officers on patrol noticed the paper wrapped around the hash brown and thought they saw Stiber holding a cellphone, so they pulled him over and ticketed him accordingly.
That happened last April in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Stiber has already fought the ticket – and lost. He’s back in court for the second time, this time before a judge, trying to argue and offer proof that would back up his story. This way, the police would have to admit they were wrong.
Stiber’s attorney John Thygerson says they have presented the court with evidence to support Stiber’s innocence: a McD’s receipt for a hash brown and a coffee, issued on the day of the incident, and phone records that show he didn’t make or receive any calls at the moment police thought they saw him on the phone. Thygerson also says his client’s car has handfree Bluetooth connection, so if he was on the phone, there would have been no need for him to actually hold it in his hand.
Stiber claims that the officers were misled into thinking he was on the phone and his only goal here is to prove his innocence. Clearly, he’s willing to spend a lot of money for that to happen.
“I have done nothing but criminal defense for 21 years and I have a very sensitive nose for [lying clients],” Thygerson tells NBC News. “I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that I firmly believe my client 100 percent.”
“The cop says he saw my client's lips moving – my client's lips were moving because he was chewing on his hash brown. He's fighting this because he didn't do anything wrong,” the attorney adds.
The judge is expected to rule by April 5.
That happened last April in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Stiber has already fought the ticket – and lost. He’s back in court for the second time, this time before a judge, trying to argue and offer proof that would back up his story. This way, the police would have to admit they were wrong.
Stiber’s attorney John Thygerson says they have presented the court with evidence to support Stiber’s innocence: a McD’s receipt for a hash brown and a coffee, issued on the day of the incident, and phone records that show he didn’t make or receive any calls at the moment police thought they saw him on the phone. Thygerson also says his client’s car has handfree Bluetooth connection, so if he was on the phone, there would have been no need for him to actually hold it in his hand.
Stiber claims that the officers were misled into thinking he was on the phone and his only goal here is to prove his innocence. Clearly, he’s willing to spend a lot of money for that to happen.
“I have done nothing but criminal defense for 21 years and I have a very sensitive nose for [lying clients],” Thygerson tells NBC News. “I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that I firmly believe my client 100 percent.”
“The cop says he saw my client's lips moving – my client's lips were moving because he was chewing on his hash brown. He's fighting this because he didn't do anything wrong,” the attorney adds.
The judge is expected to rule by April 5.
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