HAWTHORNE, CA—Some sales personnel have a bad day from failing to meet a quota, but there are those who reverse the process altogether and turn a fix-it ticket into a big-ticket arrestable charge.
Fitzgerald West, 46, was stopped by Hawthorne police on Tuesday, November 25 at approximately 11:30 a.m. along the 12700 block of Crenshaw Boulevard in Hawthorne. The Perris, California resident was apparently stopped for failing to stop at a stop sign (21453(A)VC), operating a bicycle too far from the right edge of the roadway (21202(A)VC), not having required bicycle lighting (21201(D1VC), disorderly conduct: alcohol (647(F)PCALC) and obstructing/resisting a peace officer (148(A)(1)PC).
The bail amounts for the bicycle violations were only $25 each; the stop sign charge was $100; and even the disorderly conduct was just $250. The obstruction violation, however, was far more at $10,000.
Perhaps the police were not sold on why operating a bicycle at night with no lights and being drunk in the middle of the road was alright.