'McMissile' Moment Lands Mom in Jail

[warpedskydiver 0]

'McMissile' Moment Lands Mom in Jail

Driver Gets Felony Conviction For Tossing Cup of Ice Into Car

By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 18, 2007; A01


To the locals, it's the "McMissile" case.

And like the name, the details of it spill forth like a bad joke: A woman is driving north on Interstate 95. Three kids squirm in the back seat, and her sister, six months pregnant and having early contractions, sits in the front. The stress starts to simmer. Traffic slows, then crawls, then creeps. More stress. A car cuts in front of her, then scoots away. A short time later, it darts in again. She can no longer take it. She veers onto the shoulder and speeds up. Wham! She tosses a large McDonald's cup filled with ice into the other car.

"From my side, I heard a whoomp," recalled the woman's sister, LaJeanna Porter, 27. "I was like, 'I know you didn't throw that cup.' She said, 'Yes I did.' "

Neither woman foresaw the seemingly supersize repercussions of that misguided moment July 2.

No one was injured, but the cup launcher, Jessica Hall, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., was charged and convicted by a Stafford County jury of maliciously throwing a missile into an occupied vehicle, a felony in Virginia. The instructions given to the jury said that "any physical object can be considered a missile. A missile can be propelled by any force, including throwing."

Hall, a mother of three young children whose husband is serving his third tour in Iraq, has spent more than a month in jail.

The jury sentenced her to two years in prison, the minimum, and a judge will formally impose a sentence Wednesday. Under state law, the judge can only decrease the jury's sentence.

"We didn't think it would go this far," Hall said in an interview at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. "Two years! What did I do?"

There are two versions of what happened that day. The occupants of both cars agree on this: It was hot, the kind of hot in which legs stick to leather seats, and the traffic was barely moving, slowed by a fatal crash up the road in Prince William County.

In one car, driver Pete Ballin, 36, and girlfriend Eliza Fowle, 28, were heading home to the District after visiting her father in North Carolina. They said they were maneuvering through the stalled traffic, not even noticing Hall until the Mickey-D moment.

"I guess we inadvertently merged back in front of her," Fowle said. "She apparently took that as some sort of aggressive maneuver on our part."

The next thing they knew, Fowle said, Hall was pulling up in the emergency lane and "chucking a big, supersized McDonald's cup at us." It flew diagonally across Ballin and onto Fowle. "It was gross and sticky and got all over me and the front of our car, the dashboard and the windshield," Fowle said.

Hall, whose family was driving from North Carolina to New York for a family party, saw the situation differently. She said she had never driven that route and was trying to keep up with her father's truck when Ballin cut in front of her the second time, causing her to swerve onto the shoulder. She said she was worried because her sister's bulging belly almost slammed into the dashboard.

Hall's next move was wrong, she said, but she felt provoked.

"It was past me ignoring him. I'm not going to lie; I was cursing him," she said. "I took the McDonald's cup. I tossed it over my car."

She never fathomed that it would land her in jail for the first time in her life, wearing a standard-issue jumpsuit frayed up both legs and learning to curl her hair using toilet paper. Not even when she saw Ballin talking to the state trooper up the highway, or when she was arrested and released on her own recognizance, or even when a trial date was set for Jan. 3.

Even when Ballin testified, Hall said, "I'm thinking about what I'm going to cook when I get home."

"I passed out when they said guilty, two years," she added. "I became a convicted felon."

Fowle stands by the couple's decision to report the crime but concedes that even she and Ballin were surprised at the conviction.

"I think that this is way too much of a punishment for her actions. This is just to me absolutely ridiculous," Fowle said. Community service would have made more sense, she said. "It's something that's going to make someone realize I did screw up, and I'm going to remember this, and I'm not going to do something like this again."

Hall's attorney, public defender Terence Patton, did not return calls for comment. Nor did Commonwealth's Attorney Daniel M. Chichester or Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney George Elsasser, who handled the case.

Elsasser argued in court that had Ballin been hit by the drink, he might have gotten into a serious accident with injuries. Hall also was found guilty of reckless driving, assault against Ballin and assault and battery against Fowle. For her conviction on those charges, the jury recommended she be fined $1,000.

According to court documents, Hall is unemployed and, with her husband's salary, the couple takes in $30,384 a year. She receives $388 a month in food stamps.

"It doesn't seem right for her not to be around," said Porter, who is watching one of Hall's three children, ages 4, 6 and 8. The younger two are with their grandparents. "We just hope that whatever they do, don't let them keep her. Without her, I don't know what I'll do."

Hall said she has cried every day she has spent locked up and wakes most days to find clumps of hair on her pillow from the stress. She shares a cell with two other women and spends 19 hours a day in the cell, she said.

When Hall talks about the incident, she sometimes jokes about how she will only fly over Virginia from now on and says other inmates sometimes throw things in her direction and say, "Watch out McMissile."

But in other moments, when she talks about the reality of a felony conviction, her expression goes blank. She was supposed to start nursing school the day after she was sent to jail, and she wonders what job she will be able to get once potential employers do a background check.

"Now people are going to see me as an angry, road rage, convicted felon. And it really upsets me," she said. "I must have been wrong . . . but seriously, God. Lesson learned. Lesson learned is one hour in this place."

[BillyVance 34]

Ridiculous punishment. But then again, I'm glad I wasn't in Virginia when I tossed raw eggs into passing cars' open windows when I was a teenager.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Gene03 0]

Well.... the law is the law you know.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[Cudlo 0]

Quote

Well.... the law is the law you know.

Now work that in with your Nietzsche quote.

But seriously, the law is the law, yes. However, laws get struck down or modified because of ridiculous cases like this. The mere fact that this actually made it to court speaks to how much time they have on their hands in that county. In Chicago, unless an accident actually occurred due to the "missile" ice cup, it would have been thrown out . And then someone would have gotten their head torn off because that bullshit had just cost the county several thousand dollars for no reason. My father, who is a supervising public defender for Cook County's (Chicago and suburbs) felony courts, has seen State's Attorneys ripped new assholes by judges for even THINKING to bring something like this to court.

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[Gene03 0]

Amen.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[tigra 0]

I disagree with the sentence, but not the conviction. It was road rage and she was driving with her children and her pregnant sister in the car. She endangered their lives as well as the couple in the other car, and anyone else on the road with them. The "no harm no foul, don't tie up the court's valuable time" argument doesn't do it for me either. If an accident had occurred as a direct result, she might have been looking at manslaughter charges. Plus, I seriously doubt she "learned her lesson" after only an hour in jail, from the interview, it sounds like she still doesn't get it. Its still all about her and how unfair the sentence is, not about the lives she endangered. "Waaah waaah, I'm so stressed out, I cry everyday, my hair is falling out!"

And as far as bogging down the courts? She should have pled guilty and immediately started serving a more appropriate sentence. Maybe digging graves for accident victims or cleaning out bedpans in the burn unit of her local hospital? Something that would clue her in on exactly why what she did was wrong and the potential consequences of actions like hers.

[shropshire 0]

I agree with you.... 0 tolerance but proportionate sentencing is what is called for here.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[pmw515 0]

"The jury sentenced her to two years in prison, the minimum, and a judge will formally impose a sentence Wednesday. Under state law, the judge can only decrease the jury's sentence. "

The Jury decides the sentence in Virginia? Didn't know that.

[Andy9o8 0]

I don't like mandatory minimum sentences because it takes away the discretion to adjust the sentence on a case-by-case basis. However, the law itself codifies a legitimate public policy: if you throw something, anything, into a moving car, that can cause the driver to have an accident, with potentially tragic consequences. That being said, I think probation and a very healthy dose of community service would have been the appropriate sentence in this particular case.

[nathaniel 0]

Road rage kills. She shouldn't be behind the wheel if she can't keep her composure in traffic, pregnant sister or not.

Raging with her pregnant sister in the car makes her road rage worse, imo.

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[dorbie 0]

Quote

I disagree with the sentence, but not the conviction. It was road rage and she was driving with her children and her pregnant sister in the car. She endangered their lives as well as the couple in the other car, and anyone else on the road with them. The "no harm no foul, don't tie up the court's valuable time" argument doesn't do it for me either. If an accident had occurred as a direct result, she might have been looking at manslaughter charges. Plus, I seriously doubt she "learned her lesson" after only an hour in jail, from the interview, it sounds like she still doesn't get it. Its still all about her and how unfair the sentence is, not about the lives she endangered. "Waaah waaah, I'm so stressed out, I cry everyday, my hair is falling out!"

And as far as bogging down the courts? She should have pled guilty and immediately started serving a more appropriate sentence. Maybe digging graves for accident victims or cleaning out bedpans in the burn unit of her local hospital? Something that would clue her in on exactly why what she did was wrong and the potential consequences of actions like hers.

Yup, I get the impression that the only reason she has any remorse is that she landed on the receiving end of the justice system.

What she did was wrong and dangerous. There HAVE to be prosecutions if you're caught doing this kind of thing. It's just bullshit to claim that in Chicago you'd not have been prosecuted for this. Last I heard Chicago has speeding tickets so go shop that rubbish somewhere else.

The sentence is disproportioate, perhaps they should fix the law, and maybe Bush can rise from his catatonic stupor and issue a commutation?

[Cudlo 0]

Quote

Last I heard Chicago has speeding tickets so go shop that rubbish somewhere else.

Yes.. because speeding tickets are handled in the felony courts... oh wait, thats right, they are handled by the traffic courts. This however, was a felony charge. Felony courts, you know that place where murderers, rapists, etc get sent.

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[pmw515 0]

In this case, community service would've been more appropriate. But, I agree that she is only has remorse because she is incarcerated. I oppose mandatory Mins. because of cases like this, not to suggest that she shouldn't have been punnished, but 2 years with these circumstances? I've seen trials where drug dealers on their second and third offences get probation. I'd personally like to see them get the jail time, as well as the charles mansons and the violent criminals.

blue skies

[Cudlo 0]

I'm not saying that something shouldn't have been done to her. But I would imagine it would have been a pre-trial agreement involving community service and likely anger management.

Edit to add: Actually, I'm not sure they didn't offer her a deal and she was too stupid to take it.

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[pmw515 0]

oh ok.

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

Quote

Well.... the law is the law you know.

Now work that in with your Nietzsche quote.

But seriously, the law is the law, yes. However, laws get struck down or modified because of ridiculous cases like this. The mere fact that this actually made it to court speaks to how much time they have on their hands in that county. In Chicago, unless an accident actually occurred due to the "missile" ice cup, it would have been thrown out . And then someone would have gotten their head torn off because that bullshit had just cost the county several thousand dollars for no reason. My father, who is a supervising public defender for Cook County's (Chicago and suburbs) felony courts, has seen State's Attorneys ripped new assholes by judges for even THINKING to bring something like this to court.

.

I've actually practiced quite a bit of both criminal prosecution and criminal defense law in large, urban jurisdictions (and I've been in practice for over 20 years), and I have to tell you: you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Reckless endangerment is no less reckless and no less endangering just because, by pure luck, nobody was seriously hurt or killed by the offender's boneheaded act.

Most jurisdictions would have prosecuted this. As for whether Chicago might have, you haven't even stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, so forgive me if your "analysis" fails to persuade me. My dad's an engineer, but you don't see me designing bridges.

.

Quote

Quote

Last I heard Chicago has speeding tickets so go shop that rubbish somewhere else.

Yes.. because speeding tickets are handled in the felony courts... oh wait, thats right, they are handled by the traffic courts. This however, was a felony charge. Felony courts, you know that place where murderers, rapists, etc get sent.

.


The true and serious danger to public safety of throwing an object, any kind of object, at or into a moving vehicle has already been thoroughly discussed in numerous posts in this thread. At this point, you either get that or you don't.

As for the offense being a felony, if the state legislature decides that the real or potential danger of that conduct is so serious that it merits grading the offense as a felony, that is its prerogative.

As for the sentence, as I said above, I think the judge should have had the discretion to tailor the sentence to the offense. That's where the "harm or no harm" analysis comes in: at the sentencing phase, not at the charging phase.

[Cudlo 0]

Deleted because obviously the concept of what a system is and how a system is used being different is just too difficult.

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[DaVinci 0]

Quote

I have however grown up around the system. Hell, by time I was 15 I was going to the Christmas parties and drinking with the judges and lawyers from the felony courts (that was interesting). Go to a baseball game and get drunk on tequila with county sheriffs at 16. I only know a lot of these guys and the bullshit that they will and will not put up with

Ah, so you drinking with judges makes you know more about law than a lawyer. Guess we should just drop law school and start handing out mixers at the Court house.

Got it

[dorbie 0]

Your social status boozing it up with judges and sherriffs doesn't make a compelling case.

You've managed to ignore the central point again, the driver's actions are not less reckless because her victims got lucky.

If we all threw supergulps at each other on the freeways the morgues would be backed up never mind the criminal justice system.

[kallend 1,618]

Quote

Your social status boozing it up with judges and sherriffs doesn't make a compelling case.

You've managed to ignore the central point again, the driver's actions are not less reckless because her victims got lucky.

If we all threw supergulps at each other on the freeways the morgues would be backed up never mind the criminal justice system.

Well, I don't know, but it seems to me that it takes more attention to the road to throw a supergulp with any accuracy than it does yak away on a cell phone. Just yesterday on the highway I had to swerve to avoid a woman who pulled out of a McD's without stopping or looking, all the while talking on her phone.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Well, I don't know, but it seems to me that it takes more attention to the road to throw a supergulp with any accuracy than it does yak away on a cell phone. Just yesterday on the highway I had to swerve to avoid a woman who pulled out of a McD's without stopping or looking, all the while talking on her phone.

did you throw anything at her?

I'm not sure about 2 years in jail. If she suffers from road 'tantrums' like this, then she shouldn't be allowed to drive. Isn't that simpler and more cost effective than jail time?

She should also pay for cleaning the car and the clothes and for the other driver's time.

as for the assault that comes from this, she does need to serve some time and/or community service. Had she blinded the driver forcing him to drive off a bridge or something this would not be a discussion at all.


now for the other driver driving like a jerk, I'd be thrilled to also see that addressed (I very much doubt they were just innocently cruising along). And if he didn't see them and made a move that caused the driver to stop sharply, then he's in need of some retraining as well.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[warpedskydiver 0]

I would venture to say the other vehicles driver did not receive so much as a warning because they were the "victim" no matter what they did to instigate this

Kind of like spitting in a soldiers face and being beaten to a pulp, then calling the cops because you were "assualted"

[BillyVance 34]

There was a case in Alabama several years ago involving two women in two vehicles engaging in road rage. One was a working class woman driving an older car, and the other was a homemaker socialite driving a SUV. Both had children and husbands.

I don't remember what started the road rage incident, but the socialite was tailgating the other woman and flashing the high beam and the other woman was shaking her fist out the sunroof holding a crowbar. Eventually they both came to a stop on an interstate exit ramp. The working class woman got out of her car in a rage and got in front of the socialite woman's car window, screaming her head off at her. The socialite rolled her window down and a shot rang out, and the raging woman dropped dead.

In court, the socialite tried to sell self-defense. Jury didn't buy it. She should not have rolled her window down. There were plenty of opportunities to back off the road rage incident and nip it, but she pursued it, so she's currently paying the price in prison.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[tigra 0]

Using that logic, every single time I get into the car with my SO behind the wheel, I deserve to have something thrown at me.

We'll never know in this case if the other driver violated any laws. All we know is that he annoyed her by pulling in front of her, and she responded by throwing something at the vehicle and specifically, at his passenger. Almost everyone has a cell phone these days. If he was driving illegally or recklessly, she could have called 911 and reported it.

[warpedskydiver 0]

[brownie]
[banana]



WE THE PEOPLE OF DROPZONE.COM DEMAND AN OFFICIAL BANANA, and BROWNIE ICON!!!