Athens judge dismisses case of man arrested for reading book in car

By Joe Johnson

John Choe had just arrived from his home in New York when he pulled into the Murphy Express gas station on Lexington Road because a rain storm had made driving hazardous.

He thought he would read a book in his car while waiting for the storm to pass before continuing on to his destination in Oglethorpe County, where he was to worship with fellow Quakers at Cherokee Corner Church in Arnoldsville.

Before he could get back on the road, however, a police officer tapped on his window wanting to know what he was doing.

When Choe explained that he had stopped to wait out the rain storm and offered to.move his car, the officer continued to question him and asked to see identification,

Choe repeatedly asked if he had committed a crime, to which the officer said that he was loitering and trespassing and that he needed Choe’s identification for his investigation.

After additional refusals to provide identification Choe was arrested for obstruction and transported to the county jail.

Choe’s attorney on September 3rd filed a motion to suppress all evidence because it had been obtained without any probable cause that a crime had been committed.

State Court Judge Ryan Hope granted the motion on the basis the Murphy Express clerk had called 911 out of concern for the welfare of the person inside the car and not to report a possible crime in progress.

“Neither the 911 call nor Officer (John) LaValley’s observations at the scene warranted a justifiable and reasonable concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity,” the judge said in his ruling.

Solicitor General Will Fleenor the following day dismissed the case.

The judge relied on this video in making his decision: