This happened to a person who I know very well.  The other day this person (who we will call Ted) was out driving his new sports car.  It was sleeting and the roads were slick, so he and his friend decided to get a little mean with the car.  They pulled out from a stop sign and turned sideways in the road, unluckily right in front of a police station.  They headed back home, wondering if they were in trouble but not overly worried.  Later that night Ted gets a call from the police, saying someone stated he may have been the driver of a &*%^% that was involved in a reckless driving act (note: when this person was contacted they were told a women was driving the car, she said no it was Ted.  Later they call Ted's parents, who is over 18, and get the number by saying Ted was witnessed doing an illegal act).  Not wanting to be difficult he agreed to driving and the officer said that he needed to talk to him(this was at 9:30 at night).  Ted says he has prior plans but can come down the next day or the day after.  The policeman says he won't be there those days but he'll be at the station till 2:30 that night in case he could come by.  Four days pass and Ted again gets a call, saying he needs to come down and serve a warrant that is out for him.  He walks to the station where the officer charges him with a class I misdemeanor for reckless driving.  He is given a court date and told he could loose his liscence and possibly serve jail time.  He was told the only reason he wasn't cuffed and taken to jail right away was that he confessed and was willing to cooperate.  

Does something in this story smell fishy?  Let me know what you guys think.

ques

Sounds like a case about to be thrown out by any judge with 1/2 a brain.

Yes SOMETHING sounds fishy! If you were not there and did not witness what he did, then I would bet you are not getting the full story. People ALWAYS tell a story in a way that puts THEM in a more possitive light. What I mean is anyone will embellish so the incident does not sound as bad.

If the above information were correct, what are the chances of a conviction?  
Also, how serious is a class I misdemeanor?  Would it pose any problems in leu of gun purchases or concealed carry permit?  Perhaps some more LEO's could fill me in on the info.
Thanks,
ques

Sgt 884 is likely right.  You really should be wondering about Ted.  I doubt he was entirely honest or at least elected not to provide the full info.

In California, an officer can file against an individual identified as having committed an misdemeanor for up to a year after the offense occurred, if my memory serves me correctly, provided the officer either witnessed the incident, or an individual who did witness the incident provides a statement to that effect and is willing to testify.  Chances of conviction?  It depends on the case as presented at trial.  

I had a guy I had previously stopped commit a totally stupid misdemeanor reckless driving violation in front of me and took off when I tried to flag him down (second misdemeanor).  I was unable to take off after him, so I just wrote a report on it at the end of the shift.  The DA filed on him, it went to warrant and he was ultimately convicted.  Nothin' fishy about that.

Face it! Cops are cool!

He is SOOOOO Fucked !

There is something very wrong here.  I would suggest that he show up to court naked as a show of good faith.

Swearing out a warrant is how charges are pressed when the officer didn't observe the violation.  Your friend won't be trying to discredit the cop in court.  It's the witness/complaintant he'll have to worry about.  If the witness is credible, he is indeed screwed.  It just shows that you can't drive like an idiot and get away with it just because a cop isn't standing there!

Hopefuly a judge will see this as a waste of time.
Next time I hope your friend learned to NEVER admit to anything especially to a cop asking about where were you at so&so last night.
Proper response; Am I under arrest, if so I`d like a lawyer.
If I`m not under arrest then I dont want to answer any question until I get a lawyer, I`m sure you understand officer.Thank you.

what an idiot.  Why on earth would anyone admit to anything?

Right or wrong, if the story really went down like that, I wouldn't have admitted to jack.  Later on if it came to it I'd claim the car got squirrely due to the sleet.  By admiting to something like that you limit your choice of lies later on.

A friend of mine, in fl, is probably about to have a bench warrant out for him in NM for an upaid parking ticket.  The original ticket was something like $20, and now they want to put out a bench warrant.  In my opinion they should have bigger things to worry about than not getting their $20.

The law is the law.  Obey them or pay the consequences.  If you dont like them then work toward changing them if unjust (reckless driving laws are NOT unjust) or go somewhere else where laws dont matter.

Like Iraq.

Oh $hit...I was wondering when we would start getting into the LEO topics.  Now, I'm just curious when the bashing is gonna start.  Well, in Texas reckless driving is a class b misdemeanor which is the second lowest grade misdemeanor there is.  But any class b offense in Texas if sworn by affidavit by a witness then a warrant could be taken out on the suspect if a suspect was located and positively ID'd.  Now I will say what the heck was stupid "Ted" doing driving like that in that weather in the first place.  Second, I personally get calls like that all the time and when I actually am able to find them I just tell them to not drive like such an idiot(or the majority of drivers in Harris County)!!!!!!  

In Indiana all misdemeanors are punishable by 1 year or less in prison. If it doesn't involve battery I doubt if it would cause him any difficulty. BUT if he is not mature enough to know when and where to act like an idiot, if at all, then do you want him carrying a gun??