MNO Blog – Motorcycles, News, Opinions

(Viera, Florida) Billy Lane was in court today but remained seated behind the court divider as his defense attorney, Ken Barry, appeared before Judge Allawas in the ongoing DUI Manslaughter charge that Lane faces. The main questions Judge Allawas wanted answered today were if the results were back from the independent lab the defense was using and when she would be able to set the case for trial.

Barry told the court that his office had received oral results on the blood work and based on the results he has ordered more testing. Barry told the court that he hopes to receive the final written results within the next 7 days. State attorney Mike Brown said that pictures were taken of the blood work before it was released and his interest was to see the return of the evidence and the report so that his office could examine the results as well. Both sides of the case should have the results by April 30th at which time more will be known on the exact amount of time that will be needed to prepare for trial.

Judge Allawas set a new hearing date for 1:30 pm on May 16th at which time she hopes to be able to set the case for trial. The mass media turnout for the hearing today was large in anticipation of a trial date being set, however that was not the result of the hearing. You may remember that the Judge had also stated that the final reports from the lab chosen by the defense may not be acceptable to be used as evidence in the trial. All of these questions still remain unanswered even after close to two years since the crash that left Melbourne Beach resident Gerald Morelock dead.

Billy Lane’s custom motorcycle shop, Choppers Inc. closed its doors to the public last year and now the building is empty. The Choppers Inc. web site states that the shop was to be moved in 2008, but there has been no notice of the location of a new shop. Billy Lane could get up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the DUI Manslaughter charge.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, DUI, Manslaughter, Melbourne, Florida, motorcycle news, court, crime, celebrity justice, custom motorcycles

While Billy Lane is appearing live on Main street in Daytona Beach during Bike Week, he had to appear in court yesterday before Judge Allawas for a case that started back in September of 2006. Billy Lane is still facing charges for DUI Manslaughter and can get up to 15 years if he is convicted for taking the life of 56 year old Gerald Morelock. Though prosecutors did not want Lane’s blood samples to be sent out of state to Colorado, Judge Allawas allowed it and now the Lane defense team stated they are still waiting on the blood and results to be returned. A trial date has yet to be set in this case and the next scheduled hearing has been set for April 11, 2008.

Choppers Inc. the retail store that Lane owns has been closed to the public for over a year and their web site states that the store is relocating. Billy Lane has continued his work and still makes public appearances while he is waiting for a trial date to be set. Lane recently unveiled his latest project the Henderson Bike in Columbus, Ohio and is in Daytona Beach for Bike Week 2008.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, DUI, motorcycle news, Florida, bike week, daytona beach, Melbourne, choppers inc, motorcycles

Organized Crime Rings Continue to Fuel Theft; Trend of Selling Stolen Parts Online Persists

WESTWOOD, Mass., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — LoJack Corporation (NASDAQ:LOJN) today unveiled its annual wrap-up of the year’s top recoveries for 2007 involving the LoJack For Motorcycles recovery system. These stories underscore that organized crime rings continue to fuel the growing problem of motorcycle theft. The most recent figures from the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicate that motorcycle theft has jumped a full 137 percent since the year 2000. The recovery stories of 2007 also revealed that today’s thieves continue to leverage newer mediums — such as the Internet — to sell stolen parts and make a profit from this lucrative crime.

“Once again, this year’s best recovery stories highlight that sophisticated crime rings are often behind motorcycle theft and that owners need to do everything possible to protect their bikes,” said Ronald V. Waters, LoJack’s President and COO. “Today’s owners need to be vigilant not only about where they park their motorcycles and how they protect them, but also from what sources they are buying parts and accessories, as evidenced by the growing number of thieves who are selling stolen parts online. We’re proud that the LoJack System has been so instrumental this year in helping police bust chop shops and theft rings across the country and apprehend the criminals behind this crime.”

Below are LoJack’s top motorcycle recoveries for 2007:
– “Biggest Single Chop Shop Recovery” – One LoJack-equipped Suzuki GSX-
R600 led Orlando, FL area police and auto theft investigators to
discover a chop shop with 11 other non-LoJack equipped motorcycles, 8
motorcycle frames, multiple motorcycle parts and tools, with a total
value of $200,000.

– “Fastest Motorcycle Recovery” – In this recovery, a Yamaha YZF750 was
stolen from a locked garage in a gated community outside Denver, CO.
Fortunately, the owners also equipped the bike with LoJack and area
police were able to find the bike only SIX minutes after system
activation.

– “Best Bust Reflecting the Trend of Selling Stolen Parts Online” – In
this recovery, a LoJack-equipped Suzuki GSX600 led Chicago area police
to a chop shop with not only multiple stolen motorcycles and engines,
but also hundreds of stolen motorcycle parts – all readied to be sold
online. Officers discovered that the thieves had more than 200
transactions of selling stolen parts online in the previous six months.

– “Best Recovery From a Bike Rally” – In this recovery, the owner of a
Suzuki GSXR1000 had his bike stolen from a rally in North Myrtle Beach,
SC. Fortunately, he equipped the bike with LoJack and area police not
only recovered his bike within mere hours of system activation, but
also found multiple other stolen motorcycles.

– “Best Recovery Showcasing Strength of RF Technology” – A stolen LoJack-
equipped Yamaha motorcycle led police in Fort Worth, TX to the bike’s
location in a metal building. Thanks to LoJack’s Radio Frequency
technology — which operates even if the stolen asset is in a steel
container, under dense foliage or in a concrete building — the bike
was recovered in only 12 minutes after system activation. This
recovery also uncovered a chop shop with other stolen bikes.

About LoJack Corporation

LoJack Corporation, the company that invented the stolen vehicle recovery market two decades ago, is the undisputed global leader in recovering valuable mobile assets. The company’s time-tested system is optimized for recovering stolen mobile assets through its proven Radio Frequency technology and unique integration with law enforcement agencies in the United States that use LoJack’s in-vehicle tracking equipment to recover cars, trucks, commercial vehicles, construction equipment and motorcycles. The company’s Stolen Vehicle Recovery System delivers a 90 percent success rate for cars and trucks and has helped recover more than $4 billion in stolen LoJack-equipped assets worldwide. Today LoJack operates in 26 states and the District of Columbia, and in more than 30 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

CONTACT:
Paul McMahon Jeanne Bock Laura Feng
LoJack Corp. Tier One Partners Tier One Partners
781-251-4130 781-861-5249 978-975-1414

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: pmcmahon@lojack.com

Source: LoJack Corporation

Technorati Tags: motorcycle news, theft, recovery, lojack, busted, chopshop

(Viera, Florida) Billy Lane listened attentively as lawyers discussed whether his blood samples used as evidence in the pending DUI Manslaughter case should be allowed to be sent out of the state of Florida for further examination.

Billy Lane was in court today for a hearing still surrounding the blood work evidence. State attorney Tom Brown stated that he is concerned as to the credentials and credibility of Rocky Mountain Labs located in Colorado. Toxicologist, Dr. Lawrence Masten was not present to explain why he wants to use the lab, but defense attorney Gregory Eisenmenger stated that he could testify by telephone if needed.

Lane’s attorney argued that the state should have no ruling over where the blood work would be sent and claimed full responsibility for the evidence once it was under his control “If we lose it, it is on us” Eisenmenger said. Eisenmenger went on to say that he had researched deeply and was not able to find any other case where the state could dictate what lab should be used for an independent study.

Another issue that the state attorney’s office was unhappy with is that Lane’s defense wants both vials of blood for the testing. Attorney Tom Brown said, again we have no issues with the blood being tested, we just want the lab to show some credibility. Even the web site for the Rocky Mountain Labs should show some credentials and it does not, Brown went on to say. Brown also stated that the lab web site has many outgoing links to DUI defense law offices and schools. Eisenmenger injected that the FDLE ( Florida Department of Law Enforcement) web site has many outgoing links to law agencies so this is true with the lab as well(*).  State Attorney Samantha Barrett suggested that only one vial of the blood be sent out of state for testing at a time, to which Eisenmenger argued that this would only cause delays.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, Judge Allawas overruled the states objection to the evidence being sent out of state and said that she would allow the blood work to travel to Colorado. However, the Judge added that the state would be able to argue as to whether the study performed by the independent lab would be admissible if they feel they are not qualified.

Billy Lane still faces a trial for the criminal charges of DUI Manslaughter from the September 4th, 2006 fatal crash that caused the death of Sebastian Inlet Park ranger Gerald Morelock. Byron Morelock, the brother of Gerald Morelock was at today’s hearing. The charges could bring Billy Lane up to 15 years in prison. Next hearing date is set for pretrial confrence on March 5, 2008 at 9:00 am.

*I found this statement interesting, so I took a look at the outbound links for the two sites in comparison. The FDLE site has 10 outbound links, while the Rocky Mountain labs has 290. Using the web site SEO tools, I got the following results for the two sites mentioned.

Technorati Tags: DUI, billy lane, drunk driving, motorcycle news, melbourne, viera, florida, brevard county, celebrity news

(Viera, Florida) Billy Lane’s attorney appeared before Judge Allawas this morning at 9:00 and asked that time be set aside for his expert witness to testify in the ongoing DUI Manslaughter case against custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane.

Gregory Eisenmenger estimated that he would need one half hour of the courts time in order for Dr. Masten, his expert toxicologist witness to testify as to why he would need to use a lab that is such a great distance from Brevard County, Florida. Dr. Masten uses a lab that is located in Colorado and State Attorney’s office has objected to the blood work being transported this distance. The motions and testimony were originally scheduled to be heard back on November 6th of last year, however attorney Eisenmenger was engaged in the trial of Florida State Representative Robert Allen who had been arrested for soliciting a male undercover officer for sex in a Titusville park restroom. Judge Allawas excused Eisenmenger’s absence and set a new date for today.

The new date for the motions and testimony has been set for January 18th at 4:00 pm. Eisenmenger will also try to suppress the blood evidence during this hearing.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, drunk driving, DUI, celebrity, florida, melbourne, motorcycle news, trial, viera

The hospital medical records of Melbourne, Florida custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane will now be allowed to be used as evidence in the DUI Manslaughter case against him. Choppers Inc. owner Billy Lane is facing criminal charges resulting from the Labor Day weekend crash of 2006 that left Melbourne Beach resident Gerald Morelock dead. The victim, Gerald Morelock was killed when he was hit head on by the Dodge pickup that Lane was driving at the time. Witnesses claim that Lane was speeding and had crossed a double yellow line in an attempt to pass 3 vehicles on State Road A1A when the crash occurred.

Billy Lane and his passenger, Erin Derrick were both taken to Holmes Regional hospital in Melbourne after the crash with injuries, Lane and Derrick were treated and released. Prosecutors in the DUI Manslaughter trial had filed a motion with the court to obtain copies of Lane’s medical records to be examined and possibly used as evidence in the case.

Judge Meryl Allawas ruled in favor of the motion on Tuesday allowing Lane’s medical records to be used in the trial. The defense attorneys for Lane argued that the records should not be allowed and contend that they are private. Defense attorney, Greg Eisenmenger has filed a motion to suppress the blood work taken from Billy Lane after the crash. Eisenmenger’s Motion In Limine says the state failed to comply with Florida Department of Law Enforcement rule 11D-8.012(5). The motion says that he has discovered that blood was not properly handled by not being refrigerated as required by the FDLE code.

FDLE Code 11D-8.012(5) states: “Blood samples need not be refrigerated if submitted for analysis within seven (7) days of collection, or during transportation, examination or analysis. Blood samples must be otherwise refrigerated, except that refrigeration is not required subsequent to the initial analysis”.

The burden of proof will be on the State of Florida to demonstrate they have complied with the FDLE rules.  The defense also filed a motion for independent blood analysis, but Judge Allawas is not happy with the independent lab being located so far away and has not ruled on the motion yet. Independent toxicologist Lawrence Masten of Largo, Florida has been retained by the defense to analyze the blood work, but the lab he uses, Rocky Mountain Instrumental Labs is located in Ft. Collins, Colorado thousands of miles away.

Custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane, shown above with defense attorney Gregory Eisenmenger has been present in court during the last few calendar calls. Eisenmenger has several motions to suppress the blood work yet to be heard by the court including the Motion To Limine (mentioned above) and another “motion to suppress the blood draw and resulting test”.

The motion to suppress the blood draw and resulting test was filed on September 28th, 2007 and states that the attending paramedic the night of the crash had detected the odor of alcoholic beverage in the cab of the vehicle and on the passenger. The same paramedic that provided that information did not detect any alcoholic beverage coming from the Defendant, Billy Lane. However, the paramedic did detect an obvious odor of alcoholic beverage from the passenger when he treated her. The female passenger in the truck on September 4, 2006 was 22 year old Erin Derrick of Rockledge, Florida.

The motion also states that registered nurse, Wayne Stewart, withdrew the blood from the Defendant as directed by Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Davis. Nurse Stewart testified that he did not detect the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Billy Lane at or before the blood draw.

the final paragraph of the motion reads: “Withdrawal of blood without consent is only permitted when an officer has knowledge of an accident involving death or serious bodily injury and some evidence that the suspect is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Troopers Taylor and Davis, even taking into account the information known to trooper Corbett (but not communicated to Davis or Taylor) did not have any evidence of the Defendant being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the blood draw, so the draw is illegal. Because the draw was illegal, the Defendant is likewise entitled to suppression of the blood test results.”

These motions are expected to be heard before the court on November 6, 2007 at 9:00 am. The actual trial of Billy Lane is not expected to start until early 2008. Lane could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted on the non capital murder charge of DUI Manslaughter.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, motorcycle news, DUI, manslaughter, drunk driving, court, celebrity justice, Melbourne, Florida, choppers inc

Biketoberfest ended on Sunday, but was the annual Florida motorcycle event in Daytona Beach? Not by the looks of the light activity on the famed Main Street in downtown Daytona Beach. The many Daytona Beach hotels still displayed bright neon lights telling of vacancy. The mass media newspapers and television stations all ran the same headlines days before Biketoberfest began “Biketoberfest roars into town”.

But then again, if you decide to roar into town, you will get a ticket for the Daytona Beach noise violation ordinance. The city of Daytona Beach has spent a great deal of money to make sure visiting bikers know to keep quiet, while other recent laws and ordinances to remove the fun out of the event are in the making.

While topless protester Elizabeth Book of Ormond beach has battled the Daytona Beach nudity laws since bike week 2003 and won in appeal courts, Daytona Beach recently tried to add new ordinances banning nudity in establishments that sell alcohol such as Lollipops and the Pink Pony. The planned city ordinance included not only nudity, but also skimpy cover-up outfits, T backs and G strings.

 Welcome Bikers? With all the new attempts to remove the fest from Biketoberfest and other motorcycle events, the city of Daytona Beach will need to change their current signage that reads “we are glad you’re back to “please come back”!

Technorati Tags: biketoberfest, daytona beach, florida, loud pipes, motorcycle events, noise violation, nudity laws, volusia county

(Palm Bay, Florida) A man riding a motorcycle was killed Thursday night after being struck by a Honda Accord near Minton Road and Emerson Drive in Palm Bay. Police identified the victim as Nicolo Puglisi, 33, of West Melbourne. He was not wearing a helmet. Victor Puglisi, his 8-year-old son, who was riding with him was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando with critical injuries. The boy was wearing a helmet. A 40-year-old man who was driving the Accord has been arrested on a charge of DUI manslaughter.
Jose Ramon Cabrera also faces charges of felony DUI, DUI with serious bodily injury and DUI with property damage.

Cabrera has a lengthy arrest history dating back to 1995, police said. He has two prior DUI arrests. If convicted, he might face a maximum term of 15 years. The accident occurred a before 8 p.m. Traffic homicide investigators continued to work at the scene late into the night. Traffic flow at the intersection was affected for hours. Those trying to go north on Minton Road near Emerson Drive were being directed to use alternative routes.

The above is a article that was published in Florida Today September 28, 2007 written by reporter Kaustuv Basu. Readers of this blog know that I rarely use re posts from other sources. However, somehow this story slipped on without my knowledge and it caught my eye yesterday in the Florida Today breaking news forums. My sincere condolences and sympathy go to the family of the victim, Nicoli Puglisi and prayers are for his son who survived the crash. From what I have read in the story chat, the child has undergone surgery and is still in ICU at the Orlando hospital he was air lifted to. There is talk of a fund being set up to help the family and when I get that information I will post it here for those who wish to contribute.

This story is disturbing in itself, and struck up some serious debate in the forum.  As in many stories of this nature where the writer makes mention of whether the rider was wearing a helmet or not, the great helmet debate ensues. Many times as in this particular case the helmet issue clouds the discussion over the greater issues. Another human life was taken of a motorcyclist by a person driving under the influence (DUI) in a automobile. Moreover, this man, Jose Ramon Cabrera has a long history of traffic infractions that include two previous arrests for DUI.

The last two posts in the story chat really caught my attention.

WHAT???!!! At first I didn’t/couldn’t believe what Nala41 posted, but it’s completely true. This piece of crap was let out of jail, committed yet ANOTHER running a light infraction and gets a friggen TICKET??? By the way, scum bags court date is November 28. Posted by: sweet_vindication on Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:19 pm

Well, I could not believe this myself. So I pulled the case to see if it could have been an error. To think that Mr. Cabrera could be out on bail and committed this careless driving offense days later was unimaginable. A Florida driver license check brought back the following information:
As of Oct 12, 2007, at 08:07 PM, driver license number C166-436-67-161-0 will soon be CANCELED, SUSPENDED, REVOKED, or DISQUALIFIED. Reason listed refuse to submit to breath/urine/blood test.

The citation that was issued in case  05-2007-TR-076556-AXXX-XX  indicated that the citation was NOT issued to Mr. Cabrera while driving days later as it appeared. It was issued as a summons request on 9/27/2007 and given to the Brevard county Sheriff office to be served. In fact as of today Jose Cabrera is still being held at the Brevard county jail under $320,000.00 bond. The record on case 05-2007-CF-061893-AXXX-XX reflects that Cabrera was arrested on the date of the crash and charged with DUI felony third or subsequent offense, DUI Manslaughter, DUI serious bodily injury and DUI with property damage. You will notice that the Case Type is Non Capital Murder for these charges. The Case Type for case number 05-2007-TR-076556-AXXX-XX is Traffic Infraction.

No dates have been set for docket soundings and the second appearance originally scheduled for 10/26/2007 has been canceled.

UPDATE 10/14: for the next 10 days donations can be sent to

Ronald MCdonald House Room #4

Arnold Palmer Medical Center

Att. Vincent Puglisi

1630 Kuhl Ave.

Orlando, Florida 32806

Source: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/BREAKINGNEWS/309280005

Technorati Tags: brevard county, driving drunk, DUI, fatal crash, florida, motorcycle news, palm bay

(Viera, Florida)Famed custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane was present in court today as his attorney Gregory Eisenmenger argued his motion revolving around the blood work that has remained an issue for the past few months. Eisenmenger has asked that Lane’s blood work be looked at by his expert witness Lawrence Masten. So far the only thing that Masten has appeared to have done was view the blood work and from this viewing he has determined that there may have been a problem with the seal. The blood work was taken from Billy Lane over 45 minutes after the September 4, 2006 crash that left Melbourne Beach resident 56 year old Gerald Morelock dead. Lane was charged with 3 charges after it was determined that he has a blood alcohol content of .192 more than twice the legal limit of .08 allowed by Florida Law. The original charges that were filed against Billy Lane were DUI MANSLAUGHTER, DWLS RVKD OR CNCLD WITH SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH, DUI SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. The State dismissed two of the charges back on 10/19/2006 leaving only the DUI Manslaughter charges pending. The DUI Manslaughter charges as of today are still pending with two new 1 hour hearings to be announced.

Attorney Gregory Eisenmenger told the court that his expert witness has determined that there may have been some leakage from the vial holding Lane’s blood not being properly sealed. Toxicologist Lawrence Masten says he suspects this because the blood volume appears to be low in the vial. Eisenmenger is asking that his expert be allowed to examine the blood in a lab to see if it may have been contaminated. However, Masten does not have a lab of his own and the lab he uses is in Colorado. The state objected Lane’s blood work being sent to Colorado when it could be easily tested at a closer lab in Brevard County. The court agreed with the states objection and questioned as to why it would be necessary to send the blood to another state. State Attorney Samantha Barrett suggested a closer lab used at Wuesthoff rather than sending the blood work such a great distance. Attorney Eisenmenger immediately interrupted stating ” We don’t like Wuesthoff”. Judge Allawas said that it appeared that it would be necessary to hear more about the blood work and reasons for the lab work, especially noting the objection to the DUI evidence having to be transported so far away. No date was set for this hearing today and will be announced at a later date. There is also a date to be announced in which a motion will be heard on the use of Lane’s medical records as evidence in the case.

Billy Lane is facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the criminal DUI Manslaughter charges that are still pending.

Next docket sounding for this case is currently scheduled for November 6, 2007

Technorati Tags: billy lane, court, drunk driving, dui, dui defense, dwi, celebrity DUI, florida, melbourne

(Melbourne, Florida) Billy Lane, the media and the court waited for the scheduled 2:30 hearing toady at the Brevard County court house in Viera, Florida. Just as the judge asked the court bailiff to have someone call the office of Lane’s attorney, Greg Eisenmenger, 10 minutes late Eisenmenger and assistant attorney Robert Berry entered the court room.

The court asked for a pretrial conference today to gain an idea on the exact status of the criminal DUI Manslaughter case that Choppers Inc. owner and custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane still faces since his arrest on September 25th of last year. After accepting apologies from  Defense attorney Gregory Eisenmenger for his being late, Judge Allawas asked both attorneys to report on the status of the case. Eisenmenger told the court that his expert witness was not able to view the blood work taken from Lane after the crash that killed Sebastian park ranger, Gerald Morelock on September 4th 2006. The blood work was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab and showed a blood alcohol level of .192 for Billy Lane which lead to the charges he now faces. Attorney Eisenmenger said that he expects his expert witness to view the blood work by the 31st of this month and will know then in what form he will file new motions to suppress the evidence. Eisenmenger stated that he intends to file a motion to suppress the blood work evidence either way, but the findings of his expert witness will have an effect on how it will be filed. The court set a target date of September 28th for those motions to be filed.

State attorney Mike Brown stated that he anticipated filing motions as well depending on motions filed by the defense and asked that he be notified as to the name of the expert witness and his qualifications. Billy Lane’s attorney added that after his expert witness completes his findings he would be ready for trial within 4 to 6 weeks and said that he feels the trial should be scheduled to take 8 to 10 days to be heard.

After hearing the status of the case from both sides Judge Allawas stated that she expected the case to be set for trial near the first of next year, very close to the first she added.

Next pretrial conference is set for October 10th at 9:00 a.m. 

Technorati Tags: billy lane, choppers inc, court, dui, hearing, melbourne florida, motorcycle news