Will Quinton Jackson Go to Jail?
by Michael Rome on Jul 15, 2008 11:52 PM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintIt's way too early to answer that question, especially since we don't know his prior record. He is very lucky nobody was hurt, an injury would have guaranteed him jail time. I have paraphrased the relevant California Penal Code statutes:
California Penal Code section 148
(a)(1) Every person who willfully resists, delays, or obstructs [any officer] in the discharge or attempt to discharge any duty of his or her office or employment, when no other punishment is prescribed, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
You are only guaranteed jail time if you brandish a weapon in response to police pursuit. Thankfully Jackson was not dumb enough to do that.
Jackson's hit and run, by the way, is not a felony if all the facts we are hearing are true. A hit and run in California is only a felony if there is an injury, and all reports suggest no injuries:
California Penal Code section 20002A) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in damage to property, including vehicles, shall immediately stop at the nearest location that will not impede traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other motorists...
C) Any person failing to comply with all the requirements of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine.
And finally, the reckless driving.
California Vehicle Code section 23103
c) Persons convicted of the offense of reckless driving shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than five days nor more than ninety days or by a fine of not less than one hundred forty-five dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by both that fine and imprisonment. I
It is very possible he could do a small amount of jail time, but he is not facing a big sentence. Most people with these three offenses probably would not get jail time, but the facts as we know them are so damning that a judge may want to make a small example of him for driving all over the road like a madman.
Assuming no priors, I'm guessing he gets fined and does a couple days in jail for the reckless driving. But it's just a guess.
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No Jail
Of course he won’t go to jail. I live out here in the OC. And if your rich or famous out here in OC or LA and you get in trouble, you get a nice easy break. He will get a fine and some community service and maybe some classes.
Before we rush into any snap judgements on Rampage...
“Let he who is without sin drive the first monster truck recklessly through sidewalks, intersections, and evade law enforcement”
What do you mean no injuries?
I am assuming there was people in those cars he hit on the freeway.
They may not have had an injury noticeable at the time but something tells me by tomorrow morning a couple of them will have injuries. Especially after they figure out the guy that hit them is famous and could have some money they might be able to get in a lawsuit.
So here is my question if anybody in one of those cars he hit or any of the people he almost ran over on the sidewalk file a lawsuit then it’s felony hit and run right?
Cause they are going to have to have some kind of injury to file a lawsuit against him.
Don’t tell me you don’t think any of them people will file a lawsuit.
If every driver from the three different cars he hit file a lawsuit then wouldn’t that mean three felony counts of hit and run?
I know there is a lot of hypothetical in there but isn’t it possible for them to add extra charges after looking at all the evidence. Such as a lawsuit claiming injury.
It doesn’t work that way. The civil system is entirely separate.
It’s possible that the preliminary reports understated the injuries, and that later injuries could result in a felony hit and run charge. Even then though, he would not be facing much more serious of a situation:
California Penal Code 20001.
(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to any person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident and shall fulfill the requirements of Sections 20003 and 20004.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who violates subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
It would be a bigger fine and slightly more possibility of jail time, but again not disastrous. The disastrous would have been if one of the hit and runs resulted in a “permanent, serious injury” which California defines as “the loss or permanent impairment of function of any bodily member or organ.” He’s pretty much in the clear on that one according to the facts we have.
What about?
The felony Evading charge? I read that was another charge he was facing? My bad if you already covered that, but I didn’t see it anywhere on this post
all you gotta do is...
Just to clarify, someone deciding to claim bad injury and sue COULD result in the DA pressing that charge, but the existence of the lawsuit would not be evidence there was an injury. That would have to be proven in court.
That makes sense.
I was just guessing that there will be lawsuits and in order for a lawsuit to be successful they would have to claim injury. Meaning the possibility of a felony for each lawsuit then.
But since he hit three cars that means at least three misdemeanor counts of hit and run though right?
Here is what I was talking about.
In this article a woman is now claiming an injury.
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2008/07/16/publicsafety/dpt-jacksonfolo071708.txt
I hate to say it but I saw this coming. That is why I asked the question.
Thanks Rome for gathering all of this data together.
Major factors that we don’t know about that would affect how much (if any) jail time he would receive:
1) Previous convictions
2) Any extenuating circumstances (Ex: Emergency or Vehicle failure)
3) In the absence of justification, whether the court thinks Rampage could more good speaking to kids and doing other community service than sitting in jail.
4) Whether the judge wants to make a name for himself/make an example of Rampage.
I doubt that any possible lawsuits would affect how the criminal charges are filed against Rampage as the D.A. would have to prove every injury, which is pretty difficult, especially since no injuries were reported at the scene. The D.A. would not want to risk losing on the injury element and losing the case.
Mattman, Yes, every car he collided with could be considered an additional count of hit and run. (Which is why you see people who go on long police chases rack up 15-20 counts of small crimes that adds up to big jail time).
I don’t know what Rampage’s prior record is. I believe he has an assault record from years ago, but that is mostly hearsay, I’m not positive of it. The whole situation is so hard to believe—if he was really completely sober, he must have had some kind of psychotic break.
by Michael Rome on Jul 16, 2008 2:39 AM EDT up reply actions
There is no hearsay about the assault record
He admits it fully, even if he’s not proud of it, because it is ugly as hell. Its also way, way old news.
Once drugs and alcohol were ruled out my initial thoughts were that his breaks failed or their was an emergency with his family. Those are the only two explanations for what we’ve heard went down (other then the whole “he snapped” thing).
I know if my family called me and were in trouble that I could see myself not stopping for anything if I thought I could help them. Same thing could have happened with Rampage, but at this point, were all just guessing (and I admit that I’m rooting hard for a good explanation).
I’m just glad no one was injured and if he does have some issues that they will at least be addressed going forward.
Thanks for all the updates, this is my favorite site on the internet, and coverage like this is why.
Actually, unless Dana pulls some magic out of his ass, Rampage will do time. Regardless of any of the other charges, felony evasion has a mandatory minimum sentence of 6 months in California that is served before you even receive sentencing for the crime. After your 6 months, the judge reviews your case and determines if any additional time needs to be served, up to one year max. This falls under California vehicle code 2800.2 http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d02/vc2800_2.htm.
If I seem to know a decent bit about it, it’s because one of my friends just got out a few months ago for the same offense, but with no damage to property or endangerment of 3rd parties. That will come into play for Quinton’s sentencing. Doesn’t look good for him unless the DA drops the charges.
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