12/21/24
May 14, 2010
Bike Race Bib-Swappers Charged with Felony: After an injured mountain biker racer traded her non-transferable entry bib with another racer in a Leadville, Colo., race, local district attorney Mark Hurlbert charged both women with felony criminal impersonation. "We were looking at the laws, and this was the only crime that was a fit," said Hurlbert. "That doesn't mean they will be convicted of a felony." He's also the prosecutor who pursued a rape case against Kobe Bryant.
/sleeps soundly knowing the country is safe
posted by yerfatma at 04:37 PM on May 14, 2010
"That doesn't mean they will be convicted of a felony."
No, but it does mean that you get to talk into microphones. And the racers in question (and their families) get to waste time and money and energy getting it resolved.
It's a bike race, not a freaking airplane. Let the race officials and governing body of the sport handle this.
posted by Uncle Toby at 04:56 PM on May 14, 2010
A felony?? Because the DA decided a felony count was "the only crime that was a fit"? So now these women's lives are ruined for switching bib numbers! And the DA agrees they'll never be prosecuted. Granted, what they did broke race rules, but I don't think anyone who raced against them would agree this punishment matches the crime.
I see this mental pygmy is running for CO state senate. I hope the voters are smarter than he is.
posted by BikeNut at 05:03 PM on May 14, 2010
seems like there ought to be some lesser charge to go with...something on the lines of defrauding an innkeeper.
I'm a member of a work group that has competed in various sprint triathlons and bike races. We've had people that needed to drop out at the last minute, and we've always replaced them. Never thought we were committing a felony, but then again we never win so maybe we don't have to worry too much.
posted by dviking at 05:12 PM on May 14, 2010
Prosecutors do this sort of thing all the time. They charge more than they can get and settle for something in the middle. Further, it wasn't like the DA made this stuff up. The race organizer asked the sheriff to investigate criminal charges.
posted by bperk at 06:05 PM on May 14, 2010
Shouldn't this DA be officiating at a school athletics meeting somewhere?
posted by owlhouse at 06:20 PM on May 14, 2010
He's also the prosecutor who pursued a rape case against Kobe Bryant.K
What's the connection, rcade?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:23 PM on May 14, 2010
The only connection is that the link for this story is apparently an anti-DA Hurlbert political blog. Story claims the Bryant rape case was controversial. Not sure what was controversial about it other than it involved a star athlete. That said: I agree with bperk that this happens all the time and probably would have gone virtually unnoticed except for the political blog. In summary, yawn.
posted by graymatters at 06:59 PM on May 14, 2010
It's a huge risk if he is running for state office because in all likelihood this will leave him looking like an asshat not long before the election.
posted by irunfromclones at 07:33 PM on May 14, 2010
The only connection is that the link for this story is apparently an anti-DA Hurlbert political blog. Story claims the Bryant rape case was controversial. Not sure what was controversial about it other than it involved a star athlete.
Ah, gotcha.
That said: I agree with bperk that this happens all the time and probably would have gone virtually unnoticed except for the political blog. In summary, yawn.
I just don't get why he's even trying it. I can't imagine a judge doing anything other than (at best) pointing and laughing and saying, "Mr. Hurlbert, stop wasting the court's time."
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:48 PM on May 14, 2010
I mentioned Hurlbert's Bryant prosecution because it was a high profile failure.
Prosecutors do this sort of thing all the time. They charge more than they can get and settle for something in the middle.
That doesn't make it right. It is ridiculous to prosecute this incident as a felony.
posted by rcade at 09:33 PM on May 14, 2010
Baffling. What is there to gain other than abject publicity?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:47 PM on May 14, 2010
That doesn't make it right. It is ridiculous to prosecute this incident as a felony.
First, he hasn't prosecuted anyone. He has merely charged them with the felony, and their actions fit perfectly under the statute. The racers should plead guilty to a lesser crime, and it is all over. This is how our justice system works. And, of all the many, many things wrong with our justice system, this is a pretty minor one.
posted by bperk at 09:12 AM on May 15, 2010
The tactic of prosecutors using a severe charge to pressure defendants is one of the leading reasons why innocent people plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit.
It's not a minor issue to charge someone with a felony for a minor offense, requiring them to spend thousands of dollars on an attorney to fight the charge. One of the women allegedly lost her job because of the charge.
As for the notion that their actions "fit perfectly" with the statute, what act of impersonation doesn't fit perfectly under such a broad statute? We rest a lot of power in the hands of local district attorneys to know when it is just to pursue a charge and when it isn't. Since this charge is so excessive that even Hurlbert suggests as much in his comments to the press, it was too excessive to pursue.
They switched bibs in a mountain bike race, causing the wrong woman to win a "coveted belt buckle" in the womens 40-49 age category. They've been banned from the race for life and will likely not be allowed to compete elsewhere. How is that not enough of a punishment?
posted by rcade at 09:34 AM on May 15, 2010
Well, you're sort of begging the question there, because you're assuming our justice system "works" by feeding it full of unnecessary prosecutions. I get once a person has been charged the DA often threatens the stiffest possible charge permissible under law to get a plea bargain (I watch Law & Order too), but we're talking about the part before that, when the DA stops and asks, "Why the hell are you bothering me about a bike race?"
posted by yerfatma at 09:43 AM on May 15, 2010
"We were looking at the laws, and this was the only crime that was a fit," said Hurlbert.
Of course, for that to be any sort of a rationalization, you have to start from the assumption that it is necessary to charge the women with any crime at all. Sure, the organizer called you regarding the possibility of charges, but that doesn't mean that you have to oblige him. After interviewing the women and discovering the circumstances of the "crime," that one was injured, one couldn't get a spot, and the non-refundable/non-transferable entry fee was going to go to waste, the subterfuge seems pretty understandable. This just makes Hurlburt look like an intractable asshole completely devoid of any sense of context. Further, if the organizer (sweet skullet, by the way) would be a little less draconian when it comes to refunding injured riders' entry fees, the whole situation would seem a bit more palatable.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:20 PM on May 15, 2010
Waste of court time.
This in no way suggests breaking the rule was an all right thing to do, but this is like smashing an ant with a Sherman tank.