The legal consequences for the Miami cop nailed for speeding at 120 mph through Broward County emerged Tuesday: If he forks over $3,300, he won't even have to serve probation.
Officer Fausto Lopez will plead no contest next month to a charge of reckless driving, a misdemeanor that could be punished by up to 90 days in jail, said David Schulson, assistant state attorney. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors will not seek jail time or even probation as long as he comes to court prepared to pay.
"If he shows up with a $3,300 check for the cost of prosecution, there will be no probation," Schulson said. "If he doesn't, the state's position is it could be a 90-day administrative probation terminated upon full payment."
Lopez' case began the morning of Oct. 11, when Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jane Watts followed him after she said he flew by her on Florida's Turnpikein Broward County and "was all over the road, changing lanes, one side to the other." Video of the seven-minute pursuit, ending with Watts drawing her gun on the uniformed Lopez, made national news and started a feud between Miami police and FHP.
A Sun Sentinel investigation found Lopez was a habitual speeder. The 36-year-old Coconut Creek resident routinely blew through Broward commuting to and from work in his patrol car.
An analysis of his SunPass toll records showed he averaged above 100 mph on 114 days in the year before the trooper pulled him over. Lopez was the most frequent speeder of almost 800 cops the Sun Sentinel caught through toll records driving 90 to130 mph on South Florida highways.
The Miami Police Department has held off disciplining the six-year police veteran until his court case is resolved. A police spokesman has said the penalty for officers caught speeding ranges from counseling to termination.
Lopez' attorney, William Matthewman, of Coral Springs, has acknowledged that on the morning of his traffic stop, the officer -- late for a moonlighting job in Miami -- was speeding. but said he was not driving as fast as Watts claimed. The trooper said in a statement that she was going 120 mph, "and he's just pulling away."
Donald Felicella, a West Palm Beach engineer hired by prosecutors, found that Lopez passed Watts at about 100 mph, and the trooper averaged 96 to 111 mph trying to catch up to him.
Lopez has not attended his court hearings so far but will have to appear for the April 3 plea before Broward County Judge Melinda Brown. She could decide to keep the conviction off his record. Lopez has no prior criminal offenses.
Copyright 2012 - Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
