An Everett man has convinced prosecutors and judges that he wasn’t the person who was driving drunk when stopped in both Seattle and Snohomish County.
He is still battling with the state Department of Licensing to get his driving privileges restored.
“I’m out of jail but I’m still paying for a crime I didn’t commit,” said Cyle Preston, 25.
Preston endured 16 days in jails in King and Snohomish counties in February and March after he went to court in an attempt to straighten out problems with the law. Both counties had warrants for his arrest for not coming to court for drunken-driving charges in 2005.
Preston maintains that somebody else, most likely an older brother, used his personal information to pin the drunken-driving citations on him.
Preston lost his job, but more importantly for him, lost nights playing with his 10-month-old daughter.
The Seattle charge was dismissed in early March. Snohomish County prosecutors agreed to let Preston out of the Snohomish County jail while things were sorted out.
Earlier this week, a Snohomish County District Court judge dismissed the second drunken-driving charge at the prosecutor’s request.
The dismissal order says the prosecutor is unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether it was Preston, his brother or someone else who was nabbed for drunken driving in 2005.
On Friday, Preston said he was told he could get his license back if he paid a much higher rate for car insurance, but he doesn’t think that’s fair, and he can’t afford it right now.
“I’m delighted that it’s been dropped,” public defender Dan Von Seggern said. “I feel bad that it took so long and I’m glad (prosecutors) were able to dig a little deeper and look into this.”
Preston’s continued battle is frustrating, however.
It’s one thing to say that authorities can’t prove a case and another to convince the licensing authorities that he should get his suspended license back, Von Seggern said.
“You can imagine how difficult it is for someone who is accused,” Von Seggern said. “I think (Preston) is in the right and it will take some time to show it.”
Preston likely was a victim of what one deputy prosecutor calls “freedom identity theft.”
Deputy Prosecutor Halley Hupp, who heads the Snohomish County prosecutor’s identity theft unit, said he’s seeing more cases of people getting others in trouble with the law by hijacking their identities.
Hupp said he has started a discussion with other prosecutors around the state to see if any legislation is possible to help people who are in situations similar to Preston’s.
In Olympia, the state Department of Licensing is looking into the matter.
The department has sent a letter to both Seattle and Snohomish County courts asking for a copy of their dismissal rulings, spokeswoman Selena Davis said.
“Once we do (get replies) and it clearly states this person is not responsible, all reference of the DUIs will be removed from his record,” Davis said. “If that brings his driving record into good standing, his driving privileges will be reinstated.”
Davis said she doesn’t know how long that will take.
In the meantime, Preston said he’s working the telephone, calling the Department of Licensing and the state trooper who issued the Snohomish County citation. He’s also trying to locate the Seattle officer who issued the citation there.
Dismissing the charge is a step toward Preston getting his license back, said deputy prosecutor Randy Yates, who heads the prosecutor’s District Court unit.
“Now it’s up to the DOL to reinstate his license based on their investigation,” Yates said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or jhaley@heraldnet.com.
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