Did this Hit & Run go unpunished?

Defendant:
     Precious Jewel Newton (The "lady" that hit me, then fled the scene.)
     3701 Arava Dr.
     Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
     DOB: 1/28/1970
     Phone: 904-554-4935
     Email: pjnewton70@yahoo.com

Letter mailed to Sheriff Rutherford at JSO (Jacksonville, FL) on 8/13/2008. A brief email and a link to this website was also sent to each of the Jacksonville City Council members, the Mayor, the Sheriff, the Chief Administrator, and Zone 4 substation supervisor for JSO on 8/13/2008.
Click here for latest updates on case status - Citations were issued.

This page details my experience with JSO regarding a hit & run incident. I felt that if I did not deliver the suspect into the hands of JSO, minimal effort would be put into investigating this crime and a dangerous driver would go unpunished. This would likely leave the driver with the impression that they can get away with other hit & runs, and possibly result in her injuring or perhaps killing someone in the future. I am providing this page in hopes that it is a wake-up call for JSO and the community, and some sort of policy change will occur within JSO that will give hit & run incidents the priority they deserve within the department. There is no need for law-abiding citizens to be forced to track down criminals for the police. I already have a job, and I do not expect anyone else to do it for me.

If someone follows me too closely, I *always* increase my following distance from the car in front of me. However, when I did this in this case, the driver behind me got upset and passed me on the left side in a turn lane (which she admitted to JSO). She sideswiped me (but told the officer that I hit her), and kept on going. I would have actually been better off to slam on the breaks and let her hit me, then there would have been no question who hit who. Even if the driver had stopped, though, she still could have failed to provide insurance information, and I still may have had to pay to get my car fixed. Other than a citation and small fine, it appears as though not having (or being able to provide) the proper insurance goes relatively unpunished. The driver seems to have little incentive to obtain insurance - even if she gets caught and goes to court!

Duval County Court Update

12/10/2008 - Contacted the Duval County Courthouse to find out if any effort has been made towards restitution. They had me call the traffic division on Beach Blvd (on hold for at least 10 minutes), who told me I needed to call back to the courthouse. They gave me a different number for misdemeanor crimes, and I called there. Of course once again, I was told I needed to call the traffic division on Beach.

11/13/2008 - Judgement and restitution order was issued in the amount of $1,766.41, per the local estimates for damage to my car. Fantastic - the hard work finally paid off! Or did it? If she doesn't pay, I have to pay MORE money to record the judgement, get a writ of execution, register the writ with the Department of State, levy a lien on her property, and have the lien executed. Sound difficult? It is. Scary to know that if you are a victim of a hit & run, you may end up paying more than the suspect - look at all the money they can save by not having insurance. This is insane.

11/4/2008 - On Wednesday, 10/29/08, I faxed a letter to Randy Childs from the state attorney's office, providing additional information, and requested a callback to briefly discuss the case. I was able to speak with Mr. Childs on Tuesday, 11/4/08. He will follow up on our conversation, and I will contact him the week of 11/17/08 to see how the restitution process is progressing.

10/13/2008 - Driver's court date - she pleaded no contest to the charges, and adjudication of guilt was withheld. Unfortunately, I was not notified of the court date, so I could not appear in court to provide supporting information prior to sentencing. The prosecuting attorney was Randy Childs, and the judge was Emmet F. Ferguson, III. It appears she may be ordered to pay restitution, but this seems to be a simple slap on the hand for such a serious offense. Her driving record in just the last 2 years showed citations for:
  1. Failure to provide proof of insurance
  2. Failure to give information regarding property damage (hit & run)
  3. TWO separate speeding violations
  4. Running a red light
  5. Driving around/under/through a Railroad Crossing Barrier.
How does someone with such an aggressive driving history continuously get away with nothing more than a slap on the hand?

8/15/2008 3:10pm - I received a call from undersheriff Frank Mackesy, who assured me that JSO does not want citizens tracking down hit & run suspects or any other suspects. He said that the department has a staff of investigators, and it it their job to investigate. Mr. Mackesy appeared genuinely concerned about this issue, and indicated that JSO would be investigating this incident further.

8/14/2008 6:45pm - Obtained driver information: The vehicle, a 2003 Silver/Grey Jeep, Florida License Plate# NBX2Q (US Navy specialty tag) is registered to:
     Rudolph V. Hinton
     1748 Myrtle Ave.
     Jacksonville, FL 32209
     DOB: 7/18/1952
     904-798-0029
 The driver involved in the hit & run:
     Precious Jewel Newton
     3701 Arava Dr.
     Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
     DOB: 1/28/1970
     License: N350670705280

has been charged with violation of the following Florida Statutes (click the statute to see the text):
I am happy that the driver has been charged as she should be. However, this driver appears to be driving without insurance, and it seems that she will continue to be able to do so at the very least until the court date. Will the judge suspend her license for driving without insurance? I certainly hope so, but for the time being, she is free to continue to drive potentially without insurance, and may still be able to drive without insurance after her court date. This concerns me - though charged, she can still hit someone else, possibly kill someone, and there will be no insurance company to pay for damages. I do not have collision or uninsured motorists, so my insurance will pay nothing. I hope the driver doesn't hurt anyone else in the meantime. It seems logical that the license plate should have been suspended and the vehicle not allowed back on the road until proof of insurance has been provided. The vehicle has been involved in an accident, and proof of insurance could not be produced! I am already out of pocket for the damages to my vehicle. Sure, I could take her to small claims court, but then it will cost more to take a day off from work, enter liens after the judgement, if there's anything to put a lien on, then wait possibly years to collect, if ever. The benefit of this site to others is that within the next several days an internet search of the vehicle license plate # NBX2Q (US Navy specialty tag) should bring up a link to this page where the vehicle owner and last known driver information will be posted.


8/14/2008 11:50am - Officer Border contacted me by telephone to let me know that the driver did not provide the requested insurance information. He indicated that she was cited for "Leaving the scene of an accident" or "Leaving the scene of an accident without providing insurance information", it was not clear which one. I will obtain a copy of the police report, and update here once I understand the citation. Officer Border was patient and friendly on this call.


LETTER
 August 13, 2008

Sheriff Rutherford / Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Police Memorial Building
501 E. Bay St
Jacksonville, Fl 32202
RE: Officer Dave W. Border, #7741 CCR# ######, 7/##/2008 at 7:55am

The CCR above references a hit & run traffic case. At the start of this case, I felt that Officer Border was responsive, and interested in helping to solve this case. However, as time progressed and I called every 2-3 days to check the status, I began to feel that he was disinterested, possibly due to the fact that he felt there was not significant damage to my vehicle, or possibly that he simply didn't care. Either way, $xxxx damage is significant to me, and worth tracking a suspect down. I was basically told by Officer Border that he would go by the suspect's listed address a few times, and if he was unable to make contact, he would close the case after 30 days. This seems ludicrous to me. I had a vehicle description and license tag information, yet there was a chance that a DANGEROUS driver was going to be completely off the hook for responsibility simply because they were not home when the officer stopped at the house (if that was even her house).

I started doing my own investigating, including [ removed details ]. I was successful in locating the driver [ removed details ]. Couldn't Officer Border have taken some time and put forth a little more effort in trying to locate the suspect? No problem, I was happy to deliver her [ removed details ]

Once Officer Border spoke with the offending driver, he indicated that she claimed she was unaware there was any damage to the vehicles at the time of the incident. In the same breath, Officer Border said that the woman told him that I hit her. He is going to believe BOTH of these stories? She has already admitted that she passed me in a turn lane (no passing lane), but she was not aware of any damage when our vehicles made contact? Furthermore, if she was aware there was damage the next day, as Officer Border indicated, shouldn't she have reported the damage? It seems to me that this should be a clear citation of either 1) leaving the scene of an accident, or 2) failure to report an accident, however based on my understanding from an obviously rushed and somewhat less than friendly Officer Border, he could do nothing, and if I needed any further information, it will be in the report.

As it stands, the admitted driver has now provided false insurance information - the information she provided to Officer Border was not in her name or the name of the registered owner of the vehicle, nor was it a policy on the vehicle in question. In fact, the policy was for a completely different person not even in the same city, and a last name, first name and address search by the insurance company turned up no policyholder by that name in Jacksonville. I called Officer Border and followed up later - he apparently got back in touch with the driver, and said that if she did not respond to him by Wednesday (8/13/2008) with insurance information, he will write her a citation.

I am a victim. I risked my life to walk up to the door of what I thought to be the suspect's home - also the address of someone with previous drug possession charges, several traffic offenses, and violation of a restraining order. I didn't know if I had the correct address or not, however if Officer Border would not seriously pursue the suspect, I would. Is this how you expect law abiding citizens to act - like the long arm of JSO? And if so, could JSO at least do SOMETHING when we find the suspect. The officer clearly does not want to talk with me at this point. I suppose he thinks he's done his job and it's over, since it's almost been 30 days. MY CAR IS STILL DAMAGED.

I am very frustrated. I am considering contacting Jennifer Bauer with News 4 (WJXT) to see if she is interested in this story. She has helped before where JSO has failed to perform. This letter is posted on the internet at http://www.burnedagain.com. It will be indexed by search engines in a matter of days. Hopefully, as Sheriff, you will respond so that I can post your response, or remove my complaint altogether. I'm sure your other constituents would be interested in your response as well. I provided my email address and telephone number for you to contact me. At the very least, someone from your office could contact me with some information instead of me having to do all the work - that would be a nice change.



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