Public Enemy No 1 -- Grandmother gets jail & probation and pays $25,000 in legal

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" Lisa " <mail4me1951

Fri, 5 May 2006 19:41:15 -0700

Public Enemy No 1 -- Grandmother gets jail & probation and

pays $25,000 in legal fees

 

 

 

Public Enemy No 1 -- Grandmother gets jail & probation and pays

$25,000 in legal fees

 

http://www.insideedition.com/ourstories/inside_stories/story.aspx?storyid2

 

 

 

Getting pulled over by the police late at night can be a very scary

experience, especially if it's unclear whether those flashing lights

belong to a real cop. Betty Golden, a 69-year-old grandmother of eight,

 

says she followed the advice she had heard in news reports—she

acknowledged the police, but did not pull over till she thought it was

safe. However, it's that same advice that got the grandmother into a

heap of trouble.

 

Not only was she pulled over, she was even charged with a crime!

 

 

 

Betty talked with INSIDE EDITION senior correspondent, Matt Meagher.

" I'm scared, just like I was scared the night that I was stopped, "

Betty says.

 

Her nightmare began on this lonely road in Centerville, Ga., as she

was driving home late at night from the supermarket. She saw blue

lights flashing behind her, and heard a siren, but says she wasn't sure it

 

was the real police. Betty had seen news stories about phony cops

pulling people over - robbing, raping, and even killing them. She

recalled the advice from those stories that said slow down, put on

your emergency flashers, and look for a populated, well-lit area to

pull over. Betty says that the dash cam video from the police cruiser

that pulled her over shows she did just that.

 

" They had to know I was not fleeing, you don't flee at ten miles under

the speed limit with your emergency flashers on, " a disbelieving Betty

tells INSIDE EDITION.

 

When another marked police car pulled next to her, she pulled over.

But what Betty didn't realize was she was in for the shock of her life.

 

" Get out of the car, open the door, unlock the door, open the door,

open the door, " yelled the police officer. With a gun pointed just

inches from her head, Betty says she was so frightened and nervous

that she had trouble opening the door. " Do not make me break the

window and pull you out of the car, " the policeman continued.

 

 

 

Betty was terrified, and says, " He could tell I wasn't any danger to

him, and I think how easily that officer could have shot me. "

 

Betty went to trial on her charges, and was convicted of fleeing and

interference with a police officer because she didn't open the car

door fast enough. Believe it or not she was found not guilty of the

 

original charge of failure to maintain a lane, the reason she was

pulled over in the first place.

 

Betty has never before been arrested, and has never even gotten a ticket!

 

Betty's mug shot and fingerprints were taken. She was sentenced to ten

days in jail and one year probation. Distraught and tearful, Betty

says, " I will have a police record to leave my grandchildren, and

maybe nobody else would really understand that except a grandmother. "

 

 

 

For two years Betty and her husband, Byron, fought the charges and

spent more than $25,000 on legal bills. But last month, all of her

appeals were exhausted. Betty was ordered to report to jail for ten

nights, though she was allowed to go home during the day.

 

 

 

INSIDE EDITION was with her as she left her home for the seven-mile

drive to the jail, right past the spot where she was arrested.

 

As she made the short walk to the jail, her husband Byron says he

wishes he could do more to help. " She's just a very good lady and she

doesn't deserve this, " Byron tells INSIDE EDITION. Byron even

volunteered to stay 30 days instead of his wife, but the sheriff's

department would not allow it.

 

With a few more steps, Betty entered the sheriff's office to start her

sentence. She enters with the support of family and the words of her

son to give her strength: " Mom, you don't know how proud I am of you

you've fought the fight. You stood up for your rights. You will get

through this but remember, I am very proud of you. "

 

Betty finished her sentence this week but she's not done with the

legal system, she still has to complete one year of probation.