He can’t chase them, but he can still follow them.
Floyd Hall, an Anchorage, Alaska, man who is a member of a group that helps find stolen cars, has pleaded guilty on charges of reckless endangerment after police cited him for a high-speed pursuit through town in 2017 that ended with him being shot at.
Police said Hall was driving 60 mph through a 25 mph zone as he was following a pickup, which eventually pulled over. Someone then got out of the truck and took shots at Hall’s car, according to his account of the incident.
Hall was cited with reckless driving and two counts of reckless endangerment, but vowed to fight the charges in court, backed up by supporters who started a “Let Floyd Go!” campaign. The plea deal was reached last Tuesday and resulted in a $500 fine, a suspended 30-day jail sentence and 3 years of probation.
But the deal does not preclude Hall from participating in the group’s future activities. The organization, which calls itself the “A Team,” monitors stolen car reports on social media and follows up on leads, tracking down the cars and calling the police when they find one as they keep watch over it.
Joshua Fink, Hall's attorney, said prosecutors initially requested that Hall not be allowed to "chase, follow or otherwise pursue" suspected stolen vehicles during his probation, but agreed to scale it back to simply "chasing." The difference is the "high rate of speed," Fink said.
“It’s a burden off my shoulders in a way, but for three years I sort of have to dot my i’s and cross my t’s,” Floyd told the Anchorage Daily News.