this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2025
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United States | News & Politics

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[–] Hegar@fedia.io 47 points 4 days ago (2 children)

[The police] identified an 18-year-old as the car's owner. He was arrested on a warrant connected to a prior DUI charge from Denver.

What they didn't get from the car's owner was a confession...

"The story that was relayed to me was that the three people who were in the vehicle, all three claimed to have been too intoxicated to know who was driving," said Johnson.

The 3 year statue of limitations was allowed to expire because the 18 year old car owner with a prior DUI claimed to be too drunk to remember if he was driving and his two friends said the same thing.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 28 points 4 days ago (1 children)

three claimed to have been too intoxicated to know who was driving

Then they can all share the same maximum punishment.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee -3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It doesn't work like that. You can't just punish people without probable cause. America isn't hasn't turned that Fascist yet. You need to prove who was driving first before you can punish them. Without probable cause, there is no justice.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Lol, America has a long proud history of punishing a lot of people with much less probable causes than 'the drunk DUI having car owner in his own car confirmed/confessed drunk at the time the car hit the cyclist was probably driving the car'.

Edit: Oh - you were prob replying for the case they would all share the punishment, my bad - I was trying to say that there is a probable cause one of them drove & that the system should have chosen (the most probable) one. It 100% would if it was a high-profile case.

[–] synae@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 4 days ago

Time to cancel the concept of the designated driver, the new best way to avoid a DUI is for everyone to be so shitfaced they don't know who drove!

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 48 points 4 days ago

Well, they didn't hurt a real person, merely a cyclist. So it's not clear if an infraction has been committed.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire 35 points 4 days ago (3 children)

In Colorado, aside from serious charges like murder or kidnapping, most felony charges have a three-year statute of limitations.

Well..... That's kinda crazy. I feel like a lot of investigations take longer than three years. Hell there's places in the US that have like a decades worth of rape kits police are ignoring.

[–] crank0271@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago

It's almost like it's by design

[–] yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

yes. are there any people not docile enough to pursue vigilantism anywhere but on Facebook or Instagram? nope.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 3 points 3 days ago

Except if the crime was done against the rich/powerful, then it all gets done in 3 years or much less, including the media outcry and even finding a scapegoat if need be.

The system is designed to not waste resources on non-rich vs non-rich crimes whilst also providing an additional option for when the rich are the perpetrators (in case it gets that far).

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The big political news stories about the overt fascists taking over the United States rightly get all the attention, but stories like this indicate that American culture is rotten all the way down.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Hey, that's offensive to yogurt.

[–] sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Remember - if you want to murder someone, use a car.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

Get stupid drunk and use someone else's car, apparently. 🤢

[–] misterdoctor@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago