Charged with Felony After Driveway Dispute with Neighbor, Man Uses Surveillance Tape to Win Case
Criminal charges have been dropped against a New York man accused of motoring into his driveway at a high rate of speed and forcing a police officer to jump out of the way after he provided to authorities a night-vision surveillance tape of the incident.
It showed John Hockenjos, 55, creeping into the driveway entrance and stopping short of a police officer called by a neighbor with whom Hockenjos has had an ongoing civil dispute over ownership of a two-foot strip along the driveway, according to the New York Daily News. The officer didn’t even flinch, let alone leap away from the vehicle.
An earlier Daily News article provides further details and links to the surveillance tape.
Hockenjos, a city worker who has never been arrested before, spent three days in jail before the felony case against him was dismissed by a Brooklyn prosecutor today “for lack of evidence and in the interest of justice,” the newspaper reports. His 51-year-old wife is still facing a disorderly conduct summons arising from the same incident.
“I was very worried. These were very serious charges against me,” Hockenjos told the newspaper. “I was facing seven years in prison.”
Police are conducting an internal affairs investigation of the incident.
