I lied to an officer!

Reader Question:

“I am 17 years old and I  recently bought  a car. I saw a bmw sitting on the street and the owner was just about to put the  selling sign on it So I  asked how much it was and it was pretty darn cheap and I had the money saved up so I bought it a few days later. The car has been sitting in front of my house.I  haven’t put it under my name or insured it. I didn’t have the money to do all the paperwork, and my parents didn’t want to help me . So It was a Saturday night and my boyfriend and i wanted to go out, so we took the car out and got stopped. My boyfriend was driving and didn’t have a license. I was really scared because it was my first time  getting stopped and i lied to the officer and said the car  belonged to my uncle. The officer found out that the owner had recently sold the car and  got really mad. He gave us a ticket and towed the car. I’m really scared what should I do. My boyfriend has to go to court. What will happen to him? We live in California. I would really appreciate if you guys helped.”

Answer:

When a car is purchased, people can start the registration process in their name without having to pay all the fees up front. They can pay part of the fees and get a temporary sticker to put in their window allowing them to drive the vehicle for a month or so while getting the required paperwork together, smog check, etc. Without a temporary sticker, a car can be cited for expired registration even if it’s parked. And the car can be towed if the registration is expired over 6 months, even if it’s just sitting in front of your house. A vehicle must be registered and insured to be on the roadway, even if it’s just parked.

And cops get mad when someone lies to them. Lying can be the difference between a warning and a ticket. If I stop someone and they are totally honest with me, I may cut them some slack and let a licensed driver take the car. If someone lies to me and I catch them lying, they get no breaks. Lying to a cop is actually a misdemeanor, an arrestable offense. And if someone gives false information such as a name, date of birth etc that actually belong to a real person, it’s a felony! You get taken to jail!

I’ve arrested several people for lying and giving me the name of a sister, brother, etc. The reason it’s a felony is because the unsuspecting innocent person will suddenly have a warrant out for their arrest for a missed court date for an offense they never committed. They will have to go to court to try to straighten out the mess and clear their name. That’s why it’s a felony to lie about who you are.

Here in CA, someone with a suspended license gets their car towed and impounded for 30 days. It’s not cheap to get the car out after 30 days. If it wasn’t impounded, it will still be held until the registration is brought up to date in your name. Your boyfriend will have to go to court and face a judge to explain why he was driving without a license, he’ll probably just have to pay a fine. And the more tickets he gets for driving unlicensed, the harder it will be for him to get licensed again. If he misses his court date, a warrant will be issued for his arrest. You don’t want to piss off a judge by not showing up for a court date. 

Bottom line is don’t lie. Some cops will write tickets no matter what, but some cops will give a break to an honest person. I’ve given many a warning to people who were upfront and honest with me. No cop will let an unlicensed driver drive away (liability reasons) but honesty could be the difference between getting the car towed or letting a licensed driver take it.