jerry52 893 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) This make me sick and ashamed Virginia News Bottled-water purchase leads to night in jail for U.Va. student Posted: Friday, June 28, 2013 1:36 pm BY K. BURNELL EVANSCharlottesville Daily Progress When a half-dozen men and a woman in street clothes closed in on University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, 20, she and two roommates panicked. That led to Daly spending a night and an afternoon in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Her initial offense? Walking to her car with bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream just purchased from the Harris Teeter in the Barracks Road Shopping Center for a sorority benefit fundraiser. A group of state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents clad in plainclothes approached her, suspecting the blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water to be a 12-pack of beer. Police say one of the agents jumped on the hood of her car. She says one drew a gun. Unsure of who they were, Daly tried to flee the darkened parking lot. "They were showing unidentifiable badges after they approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to a uniform," she recalled Thursday in a written account of the April 11 incident. "I couldn't put my windows down unless I started my car, and when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the car. They began trying to break the windows. My roommates and I were ... terrified," Daly stated. Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman read Daly's account and said it was factually consistent. Prosecutors say she apologized profusely when she realized who the agents were. But that wasn't good enough for ABC agents, who charged her with three felonies. Prosecutors withdrew those charges Thursday in Charlottesville General District Court, but Daly still can't understand why she sat in jail. "This has been an extremely trying experience," she wrote. "It is something to this day I cannot understand or believe has come to this point." A gents at ABC's regional office in Staunton deferred to the agency's public affairs office in Richmond. Spokeswoman Carol Mawyer would not provide details of the arrest or ABC's investigative procedures, except to say that all agents wear plainclothes and carry metal badges. Agents charged Daly with two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer and one count of eluding police, all Class 6 felonies carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $2,500 in fines per offense. Chapman said he'd never encountered a situation like this in his 34 years of experience. "It wouldn't be the right thing to do to prosecute this," he said, noting that no one was hurt during the exchange, which took place around 10:15 p.m. Daly incurred the assault charges when she "grazed" two agents with her SUV, according to court records. She drove the SUV past the agents after her front-seat passenger, in a panic, yelled at Daly to "go, go, go" and climbed into the rear of the vehicle to gain space from the men on her side of the car, the records state. The woman was on edge after spending the night listening to stories from dozens of sexual assault survivors at an annual "Take Back the Night" vigil on Grounds, said Daly's defense attorney, Francis Lawrence. The women dialed 911 as they pulled out of the parking lot to report what was happening and ask whether the agents were police officers. Daly said she was planning to drive to a police station. She stopped the SUV nearby for an agent driving a vehicle with lights and sirens, Chapman said. Chapman stood by the agents' decision to file charges, citing faith in a process that yielded an appropriate resolution. "You don't know all the facts until you complete the investigation," he said. Edited June 29, 2013 by jerry52 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wasrNwarpaint 184 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 What?...they weren't charged as terrorist? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wolverine 10,360 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 What a waste of time, energy and resources. The agents should apologize to the women and close the matter out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
D.C.MORRISON 494 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 The "new america". I 'm suprised that they did'nt shoot them. seven alcohol control agents? all there to bust collage co-eds because they might be buying beer? one would think that state resources could be better utilized. aahh dummy me. It is just tax money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beefcakeb99 572 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 no url, so I will ask...WTF were they even investigating? a couple cuties buying booze??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
romad7 75 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 I think it was for being underage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunman1 1,753 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Trust me lady, I'm the police...I'm here to protect you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wolverine 10,360 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 So it took seven agents to make a mess out of a question of underage sales to two young women? What did they think these women would think when they were being pursued by a group? Somebody should do an evaluation on the use of resources and tactics employed for or during encounters. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yakdung 2,926 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/28/bottled-water-purchase-leads-to-night-in-jail-and-felony-charges-for-uva-student/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 http://reason.com/blog/2013/06/28/six-plainclothes-cops-attack-and-arrest The were accosted for buying bottled water. They had not purchased a single beer, yet now she is charged with 3 felonies because these choads scared the shit out of her. Typical law enforcement ...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bayoupiper 738 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Too many states don't hire police officers for their ABC agents. They hire college drop outs and politicians relatives. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spartacus 1,619 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Wanna bet a condition of dropping the felony charges was not to sue the department? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunman1 1,753 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Wanna bet a condition of dropping the felony charges was not to sue the department? Had that shit pulled on me one time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Voltia 375 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 This woman needs to lawyer up, and have the charges dropped and then sue the shit out of the department, along with everyone involved being fired and banned from govt jobs forever. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rhodes1968 1,638 Posted June 30, 2013 Report Share Posted June 30, 2013 Dream on Quote Link to post Share on other sites
breid1970 327 Posted June 30, 2013 Report Share Posted June 30, 2013 If they get a lawyer they might be ok. The agents should have approached clearly with out the heavy handedness. The girls should not have run, but since they could not tell who these guys were, I don't blame them for doing the "feet don't fail me know" dance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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