I was falsely charged with a Felony DUI in Johnson County Kansas due to the city prosecutor in Overland Park Kansas locating an outstanding DUI charge against a person with a similar name born 20+ years before me that lived in another state...and then Overland Park decided to add that Felony DUI charge to my record and send out a warrant.
I was arrested in Kansas City, MO driving home from work, my car was impounded and I sat on a cement bench in the holding cells of Kansas City for a night and a day awaiting Johnson County Kansas to come transfer me across state lines to Kansas for court. Once in Kansas I waited a few more days to get in front of a judge who refused to listen to my claims that this was a mistake. I was set a Felony DUI Bond of $5,000 which cost $1,000 to a bondsman to bail me out. During the lost week sitting in various jails I lost 2 clients and missed a training class I was supposed to teach causing me to refund the $1,500 speaking fee and any future chances of teaching classes for them again.
The impound fees were $280 and then $2,500 to a lawyer who quickly found out the mistake Overland Park Kansas made charging me with a crime someone else 20+ years older had committed. It was a huge mistake since the person who SHOULD have been charged was a different race, lived in another city in another state and happened to be retired but court did not care and placed me on 'Bond Supervision House Arrest' with a SCRAM remote breath (RBU) machine, ankle GPS bracelet basically grounding me as an adult with no rights to leave my house with prior permission, no alcohol, no going to any restaurant or store that serves alcohol, no personal life or attending celebrations or family events and 24/7 electronic supervision.
My lawyer was able to prove to Johnson County that they had the wrong guy so they 'amended' the charges removing the Felony DUI. I quickly found out that the Johnson County Kansas 'Bond Supervision' is basically probation on steroids since they do not permit you to go out to eat, attend any social events, attend any family events, have a drink of alcohol, no use of Nyquil or dozens of normal cleaning solutions, 24/7 monitoring with calls and remote breath tests at all hours of the day or night. In the last 2 months dealing with Johnson County there has not been a single night without interruptions. Many nights the SCRAM remote breath will go off until 3:30AM then start again at 6:30AM giving you 3 hours at the most to try and sleep.
The SCRAM remote breath unit is a flawed machine that shows false positives for dozens of reasons...if it works at all. A drunk friend touched the SCRAM remote breath unit one time blowing into it as a 'breathalyzer' which then sent in false positives the next two times the machine was used. Nearly every day the SCRAM remote breath unit requires 30 minutes to 3 hours requesting retests or 'blow harder, blow steady, etc.' without registering a test was even taken. Several times the unit sent in false positives requiring a 2 hour trip out to Gardner Kansas for a personal drug and alcohol test - each time they came back clean after the SCRAM remote breath unit sent in false positive alerts.
I complained in person, in writing and via phone calls to Johnson County about problems with SCRAM remote breath asking for a replacement unit. I explained in detail that the machine would force me to blow into it for hours, until I was sick and light headed or that it would register positive results one minute then clear results the next minute. Twice I took the machine out to Gardner Kansas asking to exchange it for another unit but the requests were ignored until 2 days before court. There are some excellent people who work for Johnson County that do try to help and made an effort to use common sense when interacting with people which made this a little more bearable.
After weeks of this I decided to research how the machine worked to see if there were options to correct the shortcomings. I found that placing a piece of tape or some type of paper over the area where the blow tube connects to the SCRAM remote breath unit helped lower the instances of HOURS of blowing into the machine. (I made sure to contact Johnson County to ask if this was OK and they approved it since I was able to show them the problem multiple times.) It does not always work but it corrected the problem around 75% of the time. One day working on cars with my air tools I experienced the same problem with the SCRAM remote breath not registering or accepting the required test no matter how many times I blew into the unit. I wondered if using the air compressor to help blow air into the SCRAM remote breath unit would speed up the process.
I tested the theory and it worked perfectly except the air compressor blew so much air into my mouth and lungs I felt nauseous from the pressure which hurt...so it's not a great idea but works whenever the SCRAM remote breath unit is not registering your tests. I also found that the compressed air cans typically used for cleaning computers or electronics work perfectly with the SCRAM remote breath units. These are found in the office supply areas of stores and come with a clear spray tube to direct the air spray. The SCRAM remote breath units take a photo of your face from the mouth up and wide enough to show your entire face around that area. If you decide to use an air compressor or the smaller cans of compressed air to help a defective machine to take a reading then make sure to place the tiny air bow tube at the very edge of the breath tube UNDER your the breathing tube at the bottom of your mouth - it helps if the room is very dark since the two tiny lights SCRAM remote breath use will only light up the upper areas of your face without any view of anything below the breath tube or your mouth.
The camera does not take any photos from beneath your mouth so you can put anything underneath and there is no way for Scram remote breath to detect it. SCRAM remote breath units are flawed ONLY testing for alcohol levels, they don't check temperature or anything else which is a built-in defect with the machine. DO NOT tamper with the machine, do not try to take it apart, do not use anything with chemicals or oils or fluids that could damage the machine because they may be a violation of use. Blowing air into a machine that tests air will not damage anything since it's designed to have air blown into it, so if you have the same problems with the machine not accepting continuous tests disrupting your work, sleep and life...then keep these ideas in mind.
EVERYTHING sets off false positive tests on the SCRAM remote breath machine. Last weekend my wife and I spent 2 days in the Emergency Room of the hospital when we lost our first baby. I never left the hospital but the SCRAM remote breath unit sent in two false positive test reports. Luckily the Johnson County House Arrest lady on duty knew we had been at the hospital so she asked me to go wash my hands and face then do another test. The next test minutes later came back clear, the only explanation was that the hospital had us wash hands and arms with cleaning solution that contained alcohol multiple times while we were in the ER and surgery.
The next instance of false positive test results was due to poison ivy. The alcohol cleaning wipes and medication prescribed by the hospital to clean, treat and ease the discomfort all contain alcohol. Having poison ivy on my head, neck, arms, hands, legs and everywhere meant I was coating myself with alcohol several times each day which eventually built up enough to cause a false positive reading on the SCRAM remote breath unit. Topical use of anything containing alcohol on a regular basis will show up as alcohol use in a UA test so make sure to communicate any required medical prescriptions before a test comes up positive unexpectedly. This article is one of hundreds of medical studies illustrating how topical products shows up as alcohol use or drinking in a UA.
With the machine this far off being accurate or usable I suggest NO alcohol use at all, don't let anyone drinking come near you or the machine and don't even consider using mouthwash, hand sanitizer or any other item containing alcohol...unless a doctor prescribes it. There is NO reason you should ever have a positive reading on a SCRAM remote breath machine. The best way to guarantee this is don't drink but with the flaws the machines have you could celebrate your anniversary and have a drink then use a variety of air blowing devices to blow into the breath tube without ever setting off alarms. Alcohol metabolizes in the body different for each person and the Avertest UA tests can pickup alcohol use for up to a week after drinking so DO NOT even consider getting drunk while on Bond Supervision or House arrest.
My wife has gone through brain cancer, brain surgery, a miscarriage of our baby and sick in bed more than she is healthy. Several times sine Johnson County placed me on house arrest for a Felony charge that belonged to another person they called my sick wife over and over all night long for hours. She was unable to sleep, would start throwing up over the stress and lack of sleep and eventually was so sick she ended up in the hospital with a miscarriage.
If it was just constant phone calls all night long she may have been able to handle that but Johnson County house arrest would lie to her saying the police were coming to arrest me because I was asleep on prescription sleeping medication at 2, 3, or 5AM when they called to wake me for a SCRAM remote breath test.
Due to the constant problems and false readings of the SCRAM remote breath machine she has been woken up constantly, stressed out, had complications with her first pregnancy losing the baby...partly because a poorly designed defective piece of SCRAM alcohol testing equipment and stress caused from this experience.
Most courts and cities do not take your freedom or confine you to house arrest until you are convicted of a crime. Johnson County Kansas made the decision that you are GUILTY until proven innocent...and even once you are proven innocent they will take your rights away until you can get through the red tape of court to freedom. It's about money, extra income for Johnson County and running the minorities or 'undesirables' out of Johnson County. The fees associated with Johnson County House arrest, equipment, testing and supervision range from $400 a month to over $1,000 EVERY month in addition to normal court costs, lawyers, fines or legal costs paid to Johnson County.
Spend a few days observing Johnson County courts and you will notice the majority of people charged are minorities and lower income people from all walks of life. As of the 2014 US Census Johnson County Kansas is 87.5% white with a median household income of $75,017 per year. In 1880 blacks made up 39% of the Johnson County population while today it is less than 5% . Nationally minorities make up 37.9% of the population but only 12.5% of the population in Johnson County Kansas.
Johnson County residents living below the poverty level is only 5.9% of the population consisting of 96% minority races (4% white). If you dig deep enough you can find records showing over 60% of the arrests, charges and cases in Johnson County are minorities or low income people...although that population only consists of 5.9% of the residents. Either low income people are simply all criminals or there may be profiling and efforts to keep the 'undesirables' out.
Statistics and facts clearly indicate that Johnson County Kansas and the cities within (Overland Park, Leawood, Mission, Shawnee, Olathe, Gardner) appear to use the legal system as a tool to maintain the affluent white, higher income population while forcing out everyone.
I was arrested in Kansas City, MO driving home from work, my car was impounded and I sat on a cement bench in the holding cells of Kansas City for a night and a day awaiting Johnson County Kansas to come transfer me across state lines to Kansas for court. Once in Kansas I waited a few more days to get in front of a judge who refused to listen to my claims that this was a mistake. I was set a Felony DUI Bond of $5,000 which cost $1,000 to a bondsman to bail me out. During the lost week sitting in various jails I lost 2 clients and missed a training class I was supposed to teach causing me to refund the $1,500 speaking fee and any future chances of teaching classes for them again.
The impound fees were $280 and then $2,500 to a lawyer who quickly found out the mistake Overland Park Kansas made charging me with a crime someone else 20+ years older had committed. It was a huge mistake since the person who SHOULD have been charged was a different race, lived in another city in another state and happened to be retired but court did not care and placed me on 'Bond Supervision House Arrest' with a SCRAM remote breath (RBU) machine, ankle GPS bracelet basically grounding me as an adult with no rights to leave my house with prior permission, no alcohol, no going to any restaurant or store that serves alcohol, no personal life or attending celebrations or family events and 24/7 electronic supervision.
My lawyer was able to prove to Johnson County that they had the wrong guy so they 'amended' the charges removing the Felony DUI. I quickly found out that the Johnson County Kansas 'Bond Supervision' is basically probation on steroids since they do not permit you to go out to eat, attend any social events, attend any family events, have a drink of alcohol, no use of Nyquil or dozens of normal cleaning solutions, 24/7 monitoring with calls and remote breath tests at all hours of the day or night. In the last 2 months dealing with Johnson County there has not been a single night without interruptions. Many nights the SCRAM remote breath will go off until 3:30AM then start again at 6:30AM giving you 3 hours at the most to try and sleep.
I complained in person, in writing and via phone calls to Johnson County about problems with SCRAM remote breath asking for a replacement unit. I explained in detail that the machine would force me to blow into it for hours, until I was sick and light headed or that it would register positive results one minute then clear results the next minute. Twice I took the machine out to Gardner Kansas asking to exchange it for another unit but the requests were ignored until 2 days before court. There are some excellent people who work for Johnson County that do try to help and made an effort to use common sense when interacting with people which made this a little more bearable.
I tested the theory and it worked perfectly except the air compressor blew so much air into my mouth and lungs I felt nauseous from the pressure which hurt...so it's not a great idea but works whenever the SCRAM remote breath unit is not registering your tests. I also found that the compressed air cans typically used for cleaning computers or electronics work perfectly with the SCRAM remote breath units. These are found in the office supply areas of stores and come with a clear spray tube to direct the air spray. The SCRAM remote breath units take a photo of your face from the mouth up and wide enough to show your entire face around that area. If you decide to use an air compressor or the smaller cans of compressed air to help a defective machine to take a reading then make sure to place the tiny air bow tube at the very edge of the breath tube UNDER your the breathing tube at the bottom of your mouth - it helps if the room is very dark since the two tiny lights SCRAM remote breath use will only light up the upper areas of your face without any view of anything below the breath tube or your mouth.
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| SCRAM Remote Breath machines only capture photos of your face above the breath tube and include facial recognition to verify it is YOU taking the test |
EVERYTHING sets off false positive tests on the SCRAM remote breath machine. Last weekend my wife and I spent 2 days in the Emergency Room of the hospital when we lost our first baby. I never left the hospital but the SCRAM remote breath unit sent in two false positive test reports. Luckily the Johnson County House Arrest lady on duty knew we had been at the hospital so she asked me to go wash my hands and face then do another test. The next test minutes later came back clear, the only explanation was that the hospital had us wash hands and arms with cleaning solution that contained alcohol multiple times while we were in the ER and surgery.
The next instance of false positive test results was due to poison ivy. The alcohol cleaning wipes and medication prescribed by the hospital to clean, treat and ease the discomfort all contain alcohol. Having poison ivy on my head, neck, arms, hands, legs and everywhere meant I was coating myself with alcohol several times each day which eventually built up enough to cause a false positive reading on the SCRAM remote breath unit. Topical use of anything containing alcohol on a regular basis will show up as alcohol use in a UA test so make sure to communicate any required medical prescriptions before a test comes up positive unexpectedly. This article is one of hundreds of medical studies illustrating how topical products shows up as alcohol use or drinking in a UA.
With the machine this far off being accurate or usable I suggest NO alcohol use at all, don't let anyone drinking come near you or the machine and don't even consider using mouthwash, hand sanitizer or any other item containing alcohol...unless a doctor prescribes it. There is NO reason you should ever have a positive reading on a SCRAM remote breath machine. The best way to guarantee this is don't drink but with the flaws the machines have you could celebrate your anniversary and have a drink then use a variety of air blowing devices to blow into the breath tube without ever setting off alarms. Alcohol metabolizes in the body different for each person and the Avertest UA tests can pickup alcohol use for up to a week after drinking so DO NOT even consider getting drunk while on Bond Supervision or House arrest.
If it was just constant phone calls all night long she may have been able to handle that but Johnson County house arrest would lie to her saying the police were coming to arrest me because I was asleep on prescription sleeping medication at 2, 3, or 5AM when they called to wake me for a SCRAM remote breath test.
Due to the constant problems and false readings of the SCRAM remote breath machine she has been woken up constantly, stressed out, had complications with her first pregnancy losing the baby...partly because a poorly designed defective piece of SCRAM alcohol testing equipment and stress caused from this experience.
Most courts and cities do not take your freedom or confine you to house arrest until you are convicted of a crime. Johnson County Kansas made the decision that you are GUILTY until proven innocent...and even once you are proven innocent they will take your rights away until you can get through the red tape of court to freedom. It's about money, extra income for Johnson County and running the minorities or 'undesirables' out of Johnson County. The fees associated with Johnson County House arrest, equipment, testing and supervision range from $400 a month to over $1,000 EVERY month in addition to normal court costs, lawyers, fines or legal costs paid to Johnson County.
Spend a few days observing Johnson County courts and you will notice the majority of people charged are minorities and lower income people from all walks of life. As of the 2014 US Census Johnson County Kansas is 87.5% white with a median household income of $75,017 per year. In 1880 blacks made up 39% of the Johnson County population while today it is less than 5% . Nationally minorities make up 37.9% of the population but only 12.5% of the population in Johnson County Kansas.
Johnson County residents living below the poverty level is only 5.9% of the population consisting of 96% minority races (4% white). If you dig deep enough you can find records showing over 60% of the arrests, charges and cases in Johnson County are minorities or low income people...although that population only consists of 5.9% of the residents. Either low income people are simply all criminals or there may be profiling and efforts to keep the 'undesirables' out.
Statistics and facts clearly indicate that Johnson County Kansas and the cities within (Overland Park, Leawood, Mission, Shawnee, Olathe, Gardner) appear to use the legal system as a tool to maintain the affluent white, higher income population while forcing out everyone.
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Why can't the courts use common sense and just stop the madness - I should have never been arrested for a Felony I did not commit, I should have never had to bail out for a $5,000 felony bond, spend a week in jail or be placed on house arrest for a Felony charge that is not even mine!!! Now we have court again for Johnson County's motion to revoke the bond and place me in jail...when I should have never been charged with a crime someone else committed or placed on house arrest in the first place.
If I understand this correctly you are in court over a Felony you did not commit. The court realizes they screwed up and charged you with a crime someone else did. The court puts you on house arrest for the crime someone else did and now you are in trouble because the court thinks you are not complying with house arrest? If you are not supposed to be on house arrest then why don't they just drop that instead of screwing up your life even more than they already have!
ReplyDeleteCompletely insane what Johnson County is doing to you and others. I moved out of Overland Park and will never go back. You should have a good lawsuit after all this! When people in power abuse that power it leads to this kind of corruption. If they charged you wrongly they should have apologized not penalized you further. You will never recover that $1,000 bail money, lost business, weeks of your life or a lost baby.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar issue with Johnson County where the tests would come back positive although I have not drank alcohol for years. I drive for a living so work tests on a regular basis without ever coming back positive for anything. At the same time Johnson County would take a test and accuse me of drinking which almost cost me my job. Someone with Johnson County must be upset with you to have them going after you like this when they should have never put you on bond supervision or house arrest in the first place.
ReplyDelete