David A. Merola - Sovereign Samurai

[Hilfskreuzer Möwe]

I'll just repost this in full (http://www.johnstonsunrise.net/stories/ ... pe=stories). The source is a local Rhode Island newspaper's "Police Log" column.

Patrolman Remy Mendez reported stopping a car near 1400 Plainfield St. on Nov. 1 because both occupants were not wearing seat belts. When he explained why he stopped them, he said the driver informed him that he was “a sovereign citizen” and that Rhode Island law did not apply to him, which Mendez took to mean that he was one of those people who are, according to their own thinking, answerable to only “common law” and not statutes imposed by state, federal or municipal authorities. He said the driver also said it was not his car and he was not driving it. He also refused to identify himself. Mendez said running the plate number identified the driver as David A. Merola, 28, of 939 Atwood Ave., but Merola refused to show Mendez any paperwork. Nevertheless, Mendez learned Merola’s license was suspended and he was arrested for driving on a suspended license. Mendez also said that Merola refused to give his passenger, a licensed driver, his permission to drive the car, so a tow truck was called to remove it from the road. He said they also found two sharpened produce knives tucked between the driver’s seat and the console and a samurai sword in the back seat. He said Merola claimed he used the knives for work and the sword was a collector’s item. Mendez said Merola recorded the proceedings on a Sony voice recorder. He was charged with driving without a license and refusing to show evidence of registration, license or insurance for the car, and for not wearing seat belts. Det. James Brady reported that Merola was arraigned the next day and released on $1,000 personal recognizance (after identifying himself to the justice of the peace).

I poked around a little to learn to see if I could learn more about Merola-san, but didn't find anything.

SMS Möwe

[LPC]

He [the patrolman] said the driver also said it was not his car and he was not driving it.

Even though he as sitting behind the wheel while the car had been moving?

So he was levitating it?

[Pottapaug1938]

He [the patrolman] said the driver also said it was not his car and he was not driving it.

Even though he as sitting behind the wheel while the car had been moving?

So he was levitating it?

Haven't there been a few sovruns who have claimed that, although they were behind the wheel of a car and steered it while the car was in motion, used the accelerator and brake, and so on,they were not "driving" the car?

[Dr. Caligari]

Haven't there been a few sovruns who have claimed that, although they were behind the wheel of a car and steered it while the car was in motion, used the accelerator and brake, and so on,they were not "driving" the car?

That's a common variant of the Sovrun Magic-Words Defense (TM). They're not "driving," because "driving" refers [according to some obsolete dictionary] only to commercial activity; they are "travelling." There's a whole sub-forum over at SuiJuris for this type of idiocy.

[AndyK]

They were neither driving nor operating a motor vehicle.

They were controlling a private, not for hire, conveyance -- thereby putting themselves outside the reach of the apppropriate motor vehicle laws and regulations.

However, somehow the tow truck's hook vrashes a major hole through their arguments.

[fortinbras]

These twits go back to pre-20th century dictionaries to show that a "driver" is someone HIRED to drive a wagon or stagecoach, so since they are not hired to run their own cars they deny being a driver. Naturally this hasn't worked in any court for the last 100 years or so, but they keep trying.

[notorial dissent]

Dumb is dumb and just keeps right on proving it.