Accused driver in assault leaves town without trial, case dismissed

Back in December I wrote about this incident wherein a cyclist reported being intentionally hit by a driver who immediately left the scene. Though they had the plate and description of the driver, they were concerned the case wasn't getting enough attention, and was being treated as a hit and run. WABA got involved and the MPD upgraded it to a felony assault.

Since then, members of the 5th District police conducted an investigation, located the driver - Shernetta Hagans, and made an arrest. Meanwhile, the charges were reduced from 'Assault' to 'Leaving the scene -
injury', to 'Leaving the scene - damage'.

She was inadvertently released after her arrest without being arraigned, and three subsequent summons mailed to her address were returned as 'Undeliverable.' According to her Facebook page, she is now at West Virginia State University. Ostensibly because of difficulty locating her, her case has been dismissed.

I'm not sure about the process in cases like this. Was she required to let the authorities know about a change of address? Can they issue a bench warrant for her? Will she be arrested again if she shows up in the system elsewhere? It would be a travesty if she were able to avoid facing these charges simply by moving elsewhere.

Kudos to the MPD for treating this seriously and arresting the driver, but there needs to be a reasonable follow-through to make sure she doesn't just walk away.

Comments

[anonymous]

http://whitepages.anywho.com/results.php?ReportType=34&qc=&qf=Shernetta&qn=Hagans&qs=DC

know she's in WV, but this is most likely her address in DC

[SJE]

This doesnt send a good message to cyclists.

[R]

Why not file a civil suit? At least that is within your control and a sizable judgment can send just as strong a message as a low level felony sentence.

[mike]

i'm an attorney:

of course there COULD be a bench warant issued? who will pursue that? YOU? the system won't...b/c it cant...

walk away? very likely...

a civil suit? unless youre a corporation and not a private citizen -- how much money will you spend to make this happen? and then how do you enforce it? will you pursue this pro se? are you retired and wealthy7 and have nothing better to do?...

they couldnt make OJ Simpson pay...you think youll succeed in civil court?...

if there's an outstanding warrant for a criminal offense of course she can be arrested if she's "piked up" again...but can you define "picked up'? you mena, pulled over for speeding ticket? or robbing a bank?...the former: unlikely (assuming she was charged with a misdemeanor, and thats what it looks like to me...); the latter, likely -- but she aint gonna rob no bank, now aint she?!!!...

this society is broken, beyond repair. years of stupidity enshrined as policy; years and generations of toxic, untrue stupidity offered as economic wisdom (the market cures all), has lead to almost no americans being able to disntinguish between a citizen and customer/consumer. as richard layman can appreciate, the usa barely had a recognizable "public sphere," and certainly the idea of "public" good (you know, as in a "COMMONwealth") may have been an animating and profound concept for Jefferson, et al., it is all but dead in 2010.

one causality of this massive disinvestment in public service is the so- called criminal justice system. I pray you are never forced to be involved with it. there are no winners. I wonder how smart peopl can still have children in this culture, but old habits die (and ridiculous eshcatologies of alienated, "graced" life "purpose") die hard...

this woman will get off and walk away.

the travesty is that generations of smart americans did nothing to advance social justice in any menaingful sense, and now we see the consequences daily in the horrific and dispassionate bureaucracy we all are forced to navigate...

[SJE]

Bummer Mike.

If the MPD charge it as a felony, does it stay in the system for longer?

[SJE]

We can all write to the President of WV State, and encourage Ms Hagans to appear in court to answer charges. Of course, this only makes sense if the MPD and prosecutors are interested in pursuing anything.

[Jim Titus]

Mike. I don't understand why you don't think her insurance company would make good on a judgment? Why not just file in small claims court?

[mike]

jim,

im not a civil expert but ive been in small claims court on both sides (as plaintiff! and counsel)...and the recoverable limit is 5000 bucks...or it's not small claims. so, is this small amount worth it?...and you can only recover ACTUAL demonstrable damages in small claims court...

again -- and this is the profound social issue for me, and related to bike advocacy --
i dont see any reason why it couldnt be pursued in small claims court...but GIVEN how the whole process is set up it seems pointless. a judgment issued against her is just a starting point... remember it is a whole additional suit to THEN garnish any wages, make someone or some entity pay, etc.. and even if you get that far, then you have the enforcement problem. this part of the process could take a YEAR; at least four or five months at the minimum. and where do we file this suit? in what court? what state? likely it would be multiple jurisdictions involved. the Court has very feeble powers of enforcement. youd likely have to pay in advance for the services required to enforce the judgment...of course you could then SUE the woman yet again to recover your costs, and youd likely win...BUT....

who in their right mind (rich people, that's who) think the USA doesnt need drastic, euro style tort reform?....

[Jim Titus]

Hi Mike

Proving damages in small claims court is going to be easier than getting her convicted of a crime since you have the smashed bike and the ID and you only need the cyclist to seem a bit more credible than driver. And there is at least a shot of intentional i.e. battery given both the story and leaving the scene with some punitive damages. Maybe a doctor bill and doctor's report gets in as well. And the police report might be admitted. This seems better than 50/50 to me assuming there even is a trial rather than a default judgment.

I am assuming that if something is worth venting about on the internet, it is worth actually doing something about. I still don't see why collecting the judgment is too big of a deal assuming that the driver was insured. Unclear to me whether insurance info was provided to police or not--it should have been or she should have gotten another ticket for failure to provide insurance info.

Accident occurred in DC so you file in DC even if the small claim limit is less. I agree you don't go to WVa. If insurance company refuses to honor the judgment then we can talk about why insurance company is allowed to operate in DC

[SJE]

Sadly, I agree with Mike that legal remedies are difficult unless (a) the victim wants to spend a lot of money to make a point or (b) the MPD/prosecutors are involved- can WABA follow up on that?

Hence, I am in favor of appealing to her honor and/or shame, by writing to her at her college and copying the President.

[charlie]

The case was dismissed.

Was the cyclists injured in the original accident? From the reading here, it sounds as if bike was damaged but no other injury.

Leaving the scene and no injury is a pretty minor offense. Is it worth going after this. I can barely read the summary, but it sounds if there was an error by the DC courts which is why she got off.

Good luck in small claims court. Again, what is the damages -- cost of bike?

[dynaryder]

Are they sure she's in WV? Pipl gives two addresses in DC:
http://pipl.com/search/?FirstName=Shernetta+&LastName=Hagans&City=washington&State=DC&Country=US&CategoryID=2&Interface=1

Could be they were just sending to the wrong address.

[washcycle]

The cyclist had minor injuries, but was bleeding as a result.

Mrs. Washcycle says you can't sue the insurance company (at least not in VA and she doubts you can in DC) you have to sue her. So service might be difficult.

[Blue-eyed Devil]

@charlie...

"Leaving the scene and no injury is a pretty minor offense."

This presumes the driver knows the extent of the victim's injury, something that certainly can't be ascertained with a brief glance at the rearview mirror.

[Peter Burkholder]

Thanks to articles like this, DC supposedly has reopened the case and issued a bench warrant for her arrest, but that's essentially doing nothing.

If you would like to link to http://nettahaganswantedindc.tumblr.com then Netta Hagans will have the pleasure of seeing her alleged crime follow her from school into her work life whenever "Shernetta Hagans" or "Netta Hagans" is Googled.

I still don't have a replacement bike, because there's no insurance money and no restitution. My mountain bike isn't cut out for a 20-mile round-trip commute. I'm having to give up a getting comparable bike and will have to settle from something from Craigslist.

If Ms. Hagans would just turn herself in, then she'd probably just be able to plea to a misdemeanor, make restitution, and not serve any time. It would be the honorable thing to do.

[Ron Alford]

@Peter: Some schools have honor councils you can submit complaints to. I don't think most schools enjoy the honor of harboring fugitives.

[SJE]

Lets all write to administration of WV state

President Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Jr.
President

Vice President for Student Affairs
Mr. Bryce Casto

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Mr. Joey Oden

Arts & Humanities Dean
Dr. David Wohl

West Virginia State University
P.O. Box 1000, Institute, WV 25112-1000

[Bob V.]

Considering the amount of time and energy expended by several people (yourself included), it doesn't sound like "justice" will be served any time soon. Why not consider the fact that justice is imperfect and you won't gain very much anyway, and let it go and move on. Send a letter to WV State's dean and then start anew. Don't become obsessed with this.