College student faces felony for waiting to pull over in well-lit area
theGRIO REPORT - DaJuawn Wallace, a master's student at Saginaw Valley State University, is being charged with felony fleeing and eluding, but he maintains that he did nothing wrong. He claims he was trying to pull over in a well-lit area...
DaJuawn Wallace, a master’s student at Saginaw Valley State University, is being charged with felony fleeing and eluding, but he maintains that he did nothing wrong.
He claims he was trying to pull over in a well-lit area.
“I live in Detroit, and I know some people who were robbed by fake police officers,” Wallace said. “I was taught to find a well-lit area to pullover in.”
Wallace said that he noticed the headlights in his rearview mirror and signaled before getting into the right lane to let the car pass. Then, the police car activated its lights and sirens. Wallace put his hand out of the window to signal to the police car that he intended to pull over in a well-lit area.
“I was not speeding up, turning off my lights or trying to get away,” said Wallace, 24.
Saginaw Valley State University Police Officer Leon Wilson said that he initiated the stop because the car matched the description of one he had seen earlier driving on the sidewalk.
“I was uncertain about the make and the model of the vehicle, but this vehicle looked like the same color and was leaving the immediate area,” Wilson wrote.
Although Wallace has been charged with felony fleeing and eluding, he has been offered a deal to downgrade to a one-year misdemeanor with a delayed sentence, and the charges would be dropped after a year.
Wallace has rejected the offer.
“Most people will say fine, thank you for not sending me to jail. Well, that will be detrimental to me,” he said. “If I had to take a plea for a felony, I would be forced to resign my job, and I wouldn’t be able to get financial aid, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything with my degree. Even still with the misdemeanor.”
“I feel that if I was an older individual, it wouldn’t have been a problem,” Wallace said. “I feel like if I was of a different sex, they would’ve probably thought that I was just trying to find somewhere safe to pull into.”
