Posted on 09/23/2006 1:21:41 PM PDT by dennisw
A DRIVER spent two nights in jail after being accused of "revving his car in a racist manner".
Mechanic Ronnie Hutton, 49, yesterday described his court ordeal which finally ended when prosecutors dropped the allegation of racism.
But he was still convicted of a breach of the peace for revving the engine of his £25,000 Lotus.
Witnesses claimed he had been trying to intimidate a Libyan couple on the pavement. Ronnie, of Stirling, claims he was only revving the powerful V8 engine to avoid another £15,000 repair bill.
But off-duty Chief Inspector Eoin Jenkins thought he was targeting Muslim Isam Maigel and his wife Hana Saad.
And when Jenkins, now retired, confronted Ronnie he was told to "f*** off".
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On Thursday, at Stirling Sheriff court, the Crown ditched the racist part of the charge but Sheriff Andrew Cubie convicted Ronnie of breach of the peace and fined him £150.
Last night, he said: "To be convicted for revving my car in a busy street is hard to take. Does this mean anyone driving a noisy car in Scotland is now a criminal?"
Following the row last September, police officers arrived at Ronnie's home and asked him to come with them to talk about the incident. He ended up being kept in a cell for two nights before being taken to court where he was released without charge.
He complained to the fiscal and the new charges surfaced months later. He said: "The police kept me in custody over the weekend because I made the mistake of swearing at a senior officer."
In court, Mr Maigel, 28, then a student at Stirling Uni, said: "The driver came alongside and was trying to annoy us by revving his engine very, very loudly."
Using an interpreter, Hana Saad, 23, said he had degraded them "maybe because we are Muslim".
Ronnie claims he was only trying to prevent the repeat of a engine problem had had suffered earlier with the Esprit.
He said: "I've had problems with the Lotus since I bought it. I paid £15,000 for a new engine in 2003.
"As soon as I started the car the oil pressure light wouldn't go out. I accept I revved the engine - it's a V8 twin turbo and is noisy and frightening.
"I would openly apologise to this couple. I am not a racist."
He is now considering an appeal against his conviction - and also plans to sell the Lotus. He said: "It has been nothing but trouble."
SUNDAY EMAIL r.findlay@sundaymail.co.uk
'He tried to annoy us by revving his engine very loudly' Isam Maigel
Unbelievable.
I second this "Unbelievable"
What the heck is going on there?
Chief Inspector Jenkins needs to be roped up and given a seat between the exhaust tips of that Lotus for say, about 15 minutes. "Racist" my ass. That just proves that any moron can become a "chief inspector" in that burg.
First step towards sharia law!
These are the EURO-PEONS that the left wants us to emulate? No thanks!
Muslims are sensitive to everything except the screams of their victims being tortured.
Smells of contempt of constable. Friggin ridiculous.
Is this for real? Pathetic.
It wasn't racist revving it was the new muslim Lotus Eslam!!.....ha!! On a serious note though these stories are very worrying over here at the moment, in another bout of leftist insanity a BNP member was fined for racial abuse just on the evidence of a witness and no victim.........if that's not scary I don't know what is. What the hell's going on in this country, I don't recognize it no more???
Crimes soon coming to the UK:
Smoking/drinking/eating in a racist manner.
Farting in one's general direction in a racist manner.
Existing in a racist manner (iow, being white).
When I saw it was a "hate crime" in the UK, I suspected in involved Muslims (as victims, of course).
Believe me, in a lot of ways our side of the pond is unrecognizable as well. ....and the cause is the same: Leftists.
That would make a helluva good, accurate tagline-and it even fits!May I so use it?
There's your proof. What more could you want? < /sarcasm >
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