dmq
04-06-2006, 10:32 AM
Classy. First to do it. THen to try to cover it up.
Eagles pair take lumps for parkingDonovan McNabb and Jeremiah Trotter are ordered to pay up for handicapped-spot violations.
By Sam Wood
Inquirer Staff Writer
Add Maryann Cottrell to the list of foes who have brought down Eagles stars Donovan McNabb and Jeremiah Trotter.
Cottrell, the 5-foot-1 mother of a handicapped woman, tackled the two football players yesterday in a South Jersey courtroom by producing photographs she took of their trucks illegally parked last year in spaces reserved for the disabled in Glassboro.
Although McNabb and Trotter said they were not the ones who had parked the vehicles, Municipal Judge Charles Sprigman found both liable.
He ordered McNabb to pay a $256 fine and $33 in court costs. Trotter, initially a no-show, appeared after the judge threatened to suspend the linebacker's driver's license. Trotter pleaded guilty to two counts of parking in handicapped spots and will pay $512 in fines and $66 in costs.
The two Eagles were among dozens of people at a special court session to dispute tickets generated by Cottrell, a 53-year-old activist for the disabled. In the last year, she has cited more than 300 vehicles parked in handicapped spaces in Gloucester County.
McNabb's attorney, Raymond Williams, scrambled to contest charges, but the result was about as dismal as the Eagles' last season.
First Williams said there was no way to prove the photographs had been taken Nov. 28, when, Cottrell said, she snapped the white truck at the Landmark sports bar in Glassboro.
He questioned whether the section where McNabb's Lincoln Mark LT had been berthed was reserved for the disabled. Williams noted that the vehicle was astride a blue-striped access aisle - not the disabled-parking space.
Williams then presented a doctor's note stating that McNabb had been undergoing surgery for a sports hernia on that date.
At last, McNabb's head of security, Troy Oglesby, took the stand and took the sack. He said he had parked the truck at the Landmark.
Cottrell, the only witness against the alleged violators, glared at the snazzily dressed bodyguard.
"He's taking the rap!" she hissed.
Oglesby told the judge that state troopers had directed him into the overcrowded parking lot, and that a restaurant employee had told him to park in the spot. He argued that the handicapped sign had been improperly posted.
"The sign is in a flowerpot," he said. "The law says it has to be in the ground."
Sprigman smiled broadly and shook his head in disbelief as Oglesby continued. Oglesby then compared McNabb to an endangered marine mammal that had been caught in a net set by Cottrell for common fish.
"It's kind of like a fisherman who goes after tuna," Oglesby said.
The judge accepted that McNabb was not the driver that night but said: "I find under New Jersey statute 39:4-139.5 that he is in fact the owner, and the statute says he is jointly responsible."
McNabb and his attorney declined to comment as they left court.
Trotter arrived almost three hours late. After pleading guilty, he offered Cottrell $200 to support her campaign.
Cottrell said she had refused the offer and suggested he donate the money to a school for handicapped children.
"He at least took it like a man and was very cordial," Cottrell said. "McNabb, on the other hand, was like, 'I am too good to be here.' "
She said 32 people were found guilty yesterday. Though Cottrell called yesterday's session "an absolute success," not everyone who appeared was found guilty.
Caitlin Wilson, 20, a junior at Rowan University, was one of 14 whose charges were dismissed.
Wilson was cited the same day as McNabb for stopping in a handicapped space to drop off a friend at Rowan's student center.
She offered some free advice about how to beat the rap, some counsel McNabb's attorney might consider if the occasion arises again.
"Bring a witness, know your story, and have no holes in that story," Wilson said. "And ask a lot of questions."
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Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 856-779-3838 or samwood@phillynews.com.
Eagles pair take lumps for parkingDonovan McNabb and Jeremiah Trotter are ordered to pay up for handicapped-spot violations.
By Sam Wood
Inquirer Staff Writer
Add Maryann Cottrell to the list of foes who have brought down Eagles stars Donovan McNabb and Jeremiah Trotter.
Cottrell, the 5-foot-1 mother of a handicapped woman, tackled the two football players yesterday in a South Jersey courtroom by producing photographs she took of their trucks illegally parked last year in spaces reserved for the disabled in Glassboro.
Although McNabb and Trotter said they were not the ones who had parked the vehicles, Municipal Judge Charles Sprigman found both liable.
He ordered McNabb to pay a $256 fine and $33 in court costs. Trotter, initially a no-show, appeared after the judge threatened to suspend the linebacker's driver's license. Trotter pleaded guilty to two counts of parking in handicapped spots and will pay $512 in fines and $66 in costs.
The two Eagles were among dozens of people at a special court session to dispute tickets generated by Cottrell, a 53-year-old activist for the disabled. In the last year, she has cited more than 300 vehicles parked in handicapped spaces in Gloucester County.
McNabb's attorney, Raymond Williams, scrambled to contest charges, but the result was about as dismal as the Eagles' last season.
First Williams said there was no way to prove the photographs had been taken Nov. 28, when, Cottrell said, she snapped the white truck at the Landmark sports bar in Glassboro.
He questioned whether the section where McNabb's Lincoln Mark LT had been berthed was reserved for the disabled. Williams noted that the vehicle was astride a blue-striped access aisle - not the disabled-parking space.
Williams then presented a doctor's note stating that McNabb had been undergoing surgery for a sports hernia on that date.
At last, McNabb's head of security, Troy Oglesby, took the stand and took the sack. He said he had parked the truck at the Landmark.
Cottrell, the only witness against the alleged violators, glared at the snazzily dressed bodyguard.
"He's taking the rap!" she hissed.
Oglesby told the judge that state troopers had directed him into the overcrowded parking lot, and that a restaurant employee had told him to park in the spot. He argued that the handicapped sign had been improperly posted.
"The sign is in a flowerpot," he said. "The law says it has to be in the ground."
Sprigman smiled broadly and shook his head in disbelief as Oglesby continued. Oglesby then compared McNabb to an endangered marine mammal that had been caught in a net set by Cottrell for common fish.
"It's kind of like a fisherman who goes after tuna," Oglesby said.
The judge accepted that McNabb was not the driver that night but said: "I find under New Jersey statute 39:4-139.5 that he is in fact the owner, and the statute says he is jointly responsible."
McNabb and his attorney declined to comment as they left court.
Trotter arrived almost three hours late. After pleading guilty, he offered Cottrell $200 to support her campaign.
Cottrell said she had refused the offer and suggested he donate the money to a school for handicapped children.
"He at least took it like a man and was very cordial," Cottrell said. "McNabb, on the other hand, was like, 'I am too good to be here.' "
She said 32 people were found guilty yesterday. Though Cottrell called yesterday's session "an absolute success," not everyone who appeared was found guilty.
Caitlin Wilson, 20, a junior at Rowan University, was one of 14 whose charges were dismissed.
Wilson was cited the same day as McNabb for stopping in a handicapped space to drop off a friend at Rowan's student center.
She offered some free advice about how to beat the rap, some counsel McNabb's attorney might consider if the occasion arises again.
"Bring a witness, know your story, and have no holes in that story," Wilson said. "And ask a lot of questions."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 856-779-3838 or samwood@phillynews.com.