By Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Chesapeake man pleaded guilty Tuesday in a case that included photos from a city red-light camera as evidence.
Shawn Webber, 39, of Chesapeake pleaded guilty in Circuit Court to hit-and-run and driving while a habitual offender, according to a news release from the commonwealth’s attorney’s office. The charges stem from a March 15 crash in which Webber struck and injured a bicyclist near the intersection of Indian River Road and South Military Highway, then left the scene, according to the release.
The bicyclist, a 52-year-old man, required hospital treatment for broken bones, cuts and bruises.
After the crash, police filed a court order requesting release of the photos taken by the red-light camera at that intersection. On March 19, a judge ordered Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that operates the city’s red-light cameras, to release the images.
The photos showed Webber’s license plate, according to the release from the commonwealth’s attorney’s office.
It marks the first time since the cameras returned to the city in March 2009 that an image from one has been used as evidence in a criminal case. Under state law, red-light violations captured by camera systems may only be used to impose civil penalties unless a judge issues a court order.
Virginia Beach was the first city in the state to install red-light cameras after the General Assembly approved their use in 2007. The city, which also had participated in a pilot program for red-light cameras in 2004 and 2005, has 20 camera systems at 13 intersections.
Circuit Court Judge H. Thomas Padrick sentenced Webber to five years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended.
Copyright 2010 Landmark Communications, Inc.