We reported a few days ago, both by Richard and myself, that Jeff Hardy had been arrested and charged with DWI in Moore County, NC. There is new information that has come out regarding the arrest per the police report filed.
According to the report, Hardy was observed walking out of a liquor store with a 6 pack of beer and got into his vehicle. At this time, the police began following him (no indication as to the reason why). Upon observing him swerving and driving erratically on the road, they made the decision to pull Hardy over, where they observed him with a bloody nose and impaired. Hardy said that he got the bloody nose from his wife after she punched him in the face.
Police then did a roadside sobriety test, which Hardy failed on all accounts. When requested to provide a breathalyzer, Hardy refused and was taken into custody. While in custody, Hardy was forced to provide a blood sample for further testing after a judge granted a request of a warrant based on probable cause. The blood test confirmed alcohol to be in his system, which is the basis of the DWI. Hardy was then released on $200 bond and had his licensed revoked for 30 days.
With all that being said, I, Jason, have a few issues with how this played out. I do NOT condone driving intoxicated in the least, however, this has illegal entrapment written all over it and should be dismissed. The reason being is that the officers did NOT state in the police report why they started following Hardy out of the parking lot beyond the observation of he bought a 6 pack of beer. Without providing clear and conclusive evidence of the reason for tracking, there was NO reason for them to start following and tracking.
Entrapment can happen in one of two common ways. The first being that the defendant acted illegally after an official of the law coerced said defendant into acting in an illegal manner. The second is when an official of the law simply observes someone walking out of an establishment (while sitting across the street from a bar, liquor store, party, etc) and begins following for no reason, as seen here. The premise of the second is that the officer sees someone walk out of an establishment, and decides to track and follow on that basis alone, even when no illegal activity has taken place.
With all this information, yes, what he did was wrong and illegal, however, the actions of the officers here were just as illegal. They had no legal basis to follow on the simple fact that Hardy walked out of a liquor store. Keep in mind, this information is based on the official police record. Jeff really does need to get help and clean up his life before something disastrous happens and we sincerely hope that can happen.
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