Hi All. Need advice. I'm a resident in PA. In early March 2015, I became aware of the fact that PSP (PA State Police) filed charges against Me at a local Magistrates office for an alleged hit & run accident that took place in early Feb. 2015. The charges were filled at the Magistrates office and then immediately appeared in the crime section of My local paper. That is what tipped Me off to the charges. From there I went online and downloaded a copy of the pending charges from the public records data base fir our state. HHowever, the info provided in the court summary was very vague. The docket sheet and court summary only listed the charges filed against Me, the incident date, the county & township were the incident took place, My 1st & Last name, & my current address and the arresting officer, his barracks and the date he filed the complaint. I was at work in a completely different town when this incident took place and I did not have a vehicle of any kind that could have been involved in this accident.
2wo weeks after the original news papEr article, My postmaster let me know that she had returned mail to the magistrate because it was not addressed properly. She said the address on file ddint match the address on the certified mail. I called the magistrates office to have them resend it with the correct address. They refused and advised I had to come in immediately & sign for it or a warrant would be issued. So I picked up the charges.
The affidavit of probable cause filed against me stated the details of the accident in full & the investigation that the officer did to trace the incident back to filing charges against Me. The officer stated that at 2PM FEB 03,2015 2 cars were stopped at a four way intersection waiting for the light to turn green when a 3rd vehicle hit hint the 22nd vehicle, which hit into the 1St vehicle. The drivers of the other 2 cars witnessed the driver of the 3rd car back up then swerve around the accident and took off. The driver of 1st car managed to get a license plate number. The officer traced the license plate to a couple that lived in the county & went to ttheir house 2 hours latter. The couple said they loaned the car to their daughter and her boyfriend. The officer then stated that their daughter called him and stated that they were in an accident. And she didn't know why the left the scene. She gave her boyfriends name. Which happens to be similar to mine. The difference is our middle names. The officer then finishes his affidavit by stating that with above info he felt he had enough evidence to file the following charges against me: M2 ACCIDENTS INVOLVING INJURY OR DEATH-NOT PROPERLY LICENSED, M3 ACCIDENTS INVOLVING DAMAGE TO ATTENDED VEHICLE (2 Charges) , S DRIVING WHILE NOT PROPERLY LICENSED, S DRIVING AT SAFE SPEED, S FAILURE TO STOP & GIVE INFO OR RENDER AID(2 charges). These are serious charges, I am facing jail time.
Within 15 minutes of reading affidavit I was able to locate the girlfriend on FACEBOOK & from there see that she did have a boyfriend that had a name similar to mine. I also found there info on the public docket sheet portal of PA Criminal records. I also obtained a written letter from my company stating that I was present and accounted for at work on the date/time the incident happened. I made several phone calls the officer that filed the charges to try to talk to him about this. He has returned NONE of my calls. I talked to my lawyer and he wants $900 to go and get the charges dropped. I don't have $900. Just to give to someone.
Has anyone ever heard of this happening b4. I don't know if I should try talking to the DA OR the Magistrate. I know people say all the time, I didn't do it. But I can prove without a doubt that I didn't. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
2wo weeks after the original news papEr article, My postmaster let me know that she had returned mail to the magistrate because it was not addressed properly. She said the address on file ddint match the address on the certified mail. I called the magistrates office to have them resend it with the correct address. They refused and advised I had to come in immediately & sign for it or a warrant would be issued. So I picked up the charges.
The affidavit of probable cause filed against me stated the details of the accident in full & the investigation that the officer did to trace the incident back to filing charges against Me. The officer stated that at 2PM FEB 03,2015 2 cars were stopped at a four way intersection waiting for the light to turn green when a 3rd vehicle hit hint the 22nd vehicle, which hit into the 1St vehicle. The drivers of the other 2 cars witnessed the driver of the 3rd car back up then swerve around the accident and took off. The driver of 1st car managed to get a license plate number. The officer traced the license plate to a couple that lived in the county & went to ttheir house 2 hours latter. The couple said they loaned the car to their daughter and her boyfriend. The officer then stated that their daughter called him and stated that they were in an accident. And she didn't know why the left the scene. She gave her boyfriends name. Which happens to be similar to mine. The difference is our middle names. The officer then finishes his affidavit by stating that with above info he felt he had enough evidence to file the following charges against me: M2 ACCIDENTS INVOLVING INJURY OR DEATH-NOT PROPERLY LICENSED, M3 ACCIDENTS INVOLVING DAMAGE TO ATTENDED VEHICLE (2 Charges) , S DRIVING WHILE NOT PROPERLY LICENSED, S DRIVING AT SAFE SPEED, S FAILURE TO STOP & GIVE INFO OR RENDER AID(2 charges). These are serious charges, I am facing jail time.
Within 15 minutes of reading affidavit I was able to locate the girlfriend on FACEBOOK & from there see that she did have a boyfriend that had a name similar to mine. I also found there info on the public docket sheet portal of PA Criminal records. I also obtained a written letter from my company stating that I was present and accounted for at work on the date/time the incident happened. I made several phone calls the officer that filed the charges to try to talk to him about this. He has returned NONE of my calls. I talked to my lawyer and he wants $900 to go and get the charges dropped. I don't have $900. Just to give to someone.
Has anyone ever heard of this happening b4. I don't know if I should try talking to the DA OR the Magistrate. I know people say all the time, I didn't do it. But I can prove without a doubt that I didn't. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
