Stealing a car, or at least being in possession of a stolen car, is a serious offense. You can be charged with a felony, and, if convicted, you could be looking at jail time. One Oregon woman figured out a shockingly weird way to slide out of felony charges after being found with a stolen 1996 Toyota Camry. She offered the owner of the car a Mountain Dew in exchange for dropping the case, and, amazingly, it worked.
The story, which was broken by the Oregonian last week, sounds too crazy to be true. In fact, I discovered the story while searching on Google, and I was convinced that it had to be one of those silly AI hallucinations. Yet, this situation was very real, and the woman really did get out of felony charges by offering her victim a Mountain Dew.
This wild result happened through the use of what is known as “Civil Compromise” in Oregon law. This Oregon law allows a defendant and a victim to work out a deal to resolve the case. If the judge approves of the deal, the defendant can walk away with the whole case dismissed. Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
The Crime
According to the Oregonian, this story started last December when 30-year-old programmer Peter Higginbotham went on a road trip in a rental vehicle. When he returned to his home, he found that his 1996 Toyota Camry was not there.
A couple of weeks later, in January, the stolen vehicle was found speeding out of a supermarket. When police caught up, they found Chezarae Walter behind the wheel, and she was later charged with unauthorized use and possession of a stolen vehicle. Both charges were felonies. It was found that the old ‘Yota had been hotwired.
I’ve been on the victim’s side of a car theft before. Back in 2020, local drug enthusiasts stole my beloved, but ratty Ford E-350 Power Stroke diesel van. Then, they raided my Audi TT and stole its documents, and then stole every tool I owned. Sure, I paid only $700 for the van, and it was a major pile of crap, but the theft left me shaken. It took me far too long to feel safe again.
I would totally understand if Higginbotham wanted to deploy the full force of the law against Walter. Many people probably would do just that. Yet, this case took an unexpected turn.
According to the Oregonian, Higginbotham’s insurance wrote off the car and cut him a $1,700 check. Apparently, this was good enough for him. As the story reports, Higginbotham owned the car for over 10 years, and the car got beaten up so badly over time that he had to replace the engine and the radiator. At the time of the car’s theft, it was in need of brakes, a suspension replacement, and a coolant leak repair.
Reportedly, Higginbotham happily gets around on public transit, via motorcycle, and in a car he bought to replace the Toyota.
When it came time for Walter to face her criminal charges, she made him and the Court a weird offer. Apparently, his car had a sticker on it that jokingly said, “The book value of my car is one Baja Blast.”
And so, she offered him one Mountain Dew Baja Blast as a Civil Compromise.
The Law
The so-called Civil Compromise, as Oregon calls it, is covered by ORS 135.703 and ORS 135.705.
ORS 135.703 states what a Civil Compromise is:
When a defendant is charged with a crime punishable as a misdemeanor for which the person injured by the act constituting the crime has a remedy by a civil action, the crime may be compromised, as provided in ORS 135.705 (Satisfaction of injured person)…
ORS 135.705 states what needs to be met in order for charges to be dismissed:
(a)If the person injured acknowledges in writing, at any time before trial on an accusatory instrument for the crime, that the person has received satisfaction for the injury, the court may, in its discretion, on payment of the costs and expenses incurred, enter a judgment dismissing the accusatory instrument.
(b)For purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, a written acknowledgment that a civil penalty under ORS 30.875 (Civil damages for shoplifting or taking of agricultural produce) has been paid is not evidence that the person injured has received full satisfaction for the injury and is not a compromise under this section.
Basically, you work out a deal with the victim, and the deal is presented to the judge. If approved by the judge, everyone walks away. Oregon law states that Civil Compromise is not available to people charged with felonies, people who commit crimes against cops, and other factors not really relevant to this story. Click the links above to read the full laws if you want to.
My wife Sheryl, a practicing attorney for over a decade, tells me that every state technically has a version of this law, and, when used right, it’s a bright side of the legal system.
However, as the Oregonian reported in a different story about another use of this law, Oregon is somewhat different in that the courts do allow for Civil Compromise to be used for what the state considers to be low-level felonies. This carve-out has made Civil Compromise a highly controversial so-called “loophole” in Oregon. The cases in which Civil Compromise has been used successfully in Oregon get extremely dark and infuriating, and include allegations of sexual abuse or dangerous drunk driving. But on the lighter side, Civil Compromise has also been used to give folks a second chance, such as the case of the person who stole an attorney’s coat, and got out of charges by simply apologizing.
A Second Chance
This case falls into that latter category. Reportedly, Higginbotham didn’t want anyone to go to prison for stealing his pile of crap car, and besides, his bumper sticker did say that his car was worth one Baja Blast, after all. He had to honor the sticker! Sadly, I could not find this sticker online, so it may have been a custom job.
Apparently, there was only one part of the deal that Higginbotham didn’t like, and it was the taste of it, from the Oregonian:
“I didn’t really like it. I’m not a big soda guy,” Higginbotham said in a Wednesday interview. “It was a little citrusy. A little bit pineapple-y. Maybe it’s better if you’re actively eating a taco.”
The prosecutor for the case disagreed with the deal. Walter argued that she had struggled with drug use, but had since moved back in with her father and was working on turning her life around. On September 26, the case came to an end with Walter’s charges being dismissed. Reportedly, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Auxier said:
“You worked out a smoking hot agreement!” […] “The bottom line is the victim in this case doesn’t want this to proceed, and I’ve heard enough to be satisfied that you are on a path in life that has potential,” Auxier said in court. “The state has enough cases to prosecute.”
As for Higginbotham, it took him a few days to finish drinking the Mountain Dew. Apparently, he’s keeping the bottle as a memento. Because, as it turns out, justice might not be a dish that’s best served cold. Instead, at least in this case, justice is a cold bottle of Baja Blast.
Great story, but to be honest Oregon won’t prosecute criminals at this level so it was a MD or suffer the judge sentence the victim to prison for me along the car an attractive nuisance.
Isn’t the victim of this case the insurance company, if they paid out?
That was my thought too, if insurance paid the full value. I think its unlikely they’d bother paying the legal fees for an uncollectable judgement that could just as likely cost them even more in bad PR (e.g. big bad insurance company going after the poor). So Higginbotham may have gotten the best deal he could.
I mean, I’m sure he paid WAY more than $1700 in premiums in 10 years he owned it, and seemingly never filed a claim otherwise. So did they REALLY lose anything by giving him $1700?
For sure Baja Blast is only really good with Taco Bell. If I’m going to eat like shit, I go all-in.
I thought it was only available at the bell!
They started selling it retail years ago, which I think was a bad move. Having something exclusive helps drive customers to your restaurant where they spend more money. I doubt the bottles they sell at the grocery store outweighs that.
The “blast” portion of the name is rather apropos in the context of Taco Bell.
I believe a site called onehellofatown used to have a very similar sticker, though that one read “my car’s book value is one baja blast”. Unfortunately that sticker is no longer listed as of a few months ago.
I’ve definitely seen that bumper sticker for sale but I can’t remember if it was OHOAT or someone dealing at fandom conventions.
“As for Higginbotham, it took him a few days to finish drinking the Mountain Dew. Apparently, he’s keeping the bottle as a memento.”
I would also keep the bottle as a memento, but the vile liquid inside is going right down the drain.
Just another day in Portland. I’m surprised the prosecutor put up a fight to keep with proceedings.
Exactly what I was thinking. Let’s let another tweaker off the hook. I’m sure she won’t be back on the street stealing shit again in a couple of months.
With a name like Chezarae Walter, she is likely to be tweaking again before long, although most of us here would wish her a permanent recovery from her addictions.
Having known many, many addicts in my life, if she was raised by her father, what does he know now that he didn’t know then that would keep her from using illegal drugs and driving around in stolen cars?
On another note, Oregon is awash in methamphetamines. Marijuana is grown in huge quantities, and paid for with meth. The pot goes out of state to where it sells for high prices, and the meth gets sold cheap on the streets. The same problem exists in other states where “medical” marijuana is legal to grow, but it’s a particular problem in Oregon.
Ive always been told opioids are a physical addiction but being around people that were former methamphetamine and other chemicals like that addicts they have a physical addiction too. That information is out there now but people don’t want to deal with it. These people go everyday craving that junk physically there seems to be no end and I don’t think you can trust any of them not to relapse. There isn’t any way to counter act it yet either.
Lived in Portland for about 10 years, and it left me with a serious case of compassion fatigue. Portland and Multnomah County have spent untold amounts of taxpayer dollars on addiction services, shelters, housing programs and other things intended to help homeless folks and people suffering from addiction, but these programs are incredibly ineffective. From what I’ve seen, it’s basically just a long grift to funnel money to do-nothing non-profit organizations, meanwhile the problem just gets worse.
Obviously the ideal scenario would be for folks like this to get help, get clean, and live productive lives, but in my experience, the majority of them refuse the abundant FREE services available to them because the reality is that they just don’t want to live by the rules of society. Unfortunately they’re enabled and coddled by the leaders, taxpayers, and voters of Portland because they don’t understand the difference between compassion and enablement.
If they refuse that help what do you propose to do with them, short of bulldozing them in the dead of the night into the Columbia so as to flush the problem out to the sea?
Flushing them out to sea isn’t the worst idea. Seriously though, this is the problem. What DO you do about it? Letting these people commit crimes with zero repercussions, or just letting them die in the streets certainly isn’t the answer, but that seems to be the option that’s been chosen. It’s a “we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” situation.
Do as the British did; exile the problem to Australia (preferably to the very center of the continent) and let the weather and indigenous wildlife handle it. Which is KINDA like flushing them out to sea.
Be sure to send a film crew to record the decent into Bartertown.
Alternatively send them to Tasmania. They’ll probably even go willingly when they find out that small island produces over half the world’s legal opium:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_opium_industry
Part of the problem is that even if they DID get clean and get a job, it isn’t going to pay enough to live anyway. Things cost too much, and jobs that will hire someone with a criminal record pay too little. The system pulls people in and never lets them out.
It could be that they would LOVE to live a clean healthy productive life, but that’s just not on offer for most people.
There is really no help for them until they decide they want to change and then still it’s a rough road. If you want a laugh you can search copart and iaai in Oregon for theft recoveries. So many of the same 90s to early 2000s cars they know have no immo.They know what they are doing.
I think Oregons only hope is the Idaho referendum and just let the crazies fight it out in their own area.
Immo?
Immobilizer
Ah
That’s a whole lot cheaper than having to donate to an inaugural fund or presidential library.
I would’ve made the criminal donate to the Human Fund.
Just a question…
Did the original charges get reduced in order for this agreement to happen?
“When police caught up, they found Chezarae Walter behind the wheel, and she was later charged with unauthorized use and possession of a stolen vehicle. Both charges were felonies. It was found that the old ‘Yota had been hotwired.”
…
“Oregon law states that Civil Compromise is not available to people charged with felonies, people who commit crimes against cops, and other factors not really relevant to this story.”
See my confusion?
I’m guessing the charges must have been lowered to simple misdemeanors. Unless they were willing to ignore their own state law and consider these to be low-level felonies.
In which case the state would have to apologize for violating their own laws and both parties just had to accept the apology. 🙂
I believe those are class C felonies in Oregon, so would be considered low level
If you read a little bit further down, I note that there is an exception to that law for low-level felonies. Sadly, if you look up the Oregonian’s coverage on this law, you’ll learn that Civil Compromise has been used on some seriously messed-up crimes.
Too bad, because this is one of those stories some people will scream as being about “soft on crime judges”, when it’s actually a feel good story about a piece of crap car and some nice people willing to give someone a chance.
Meanwhile the heinous stuff doesn’t make the news or is under some kind of seal.
Thankfully, the heinous stuff has been covered very well by Oregon’s news outlets. I made the decision not to cover it because, honestly, I don’t really like talking about sexual abuse and possible rape allegations in a setting like this.
The problem is intransigent thieves that are encouraged to keep stealing.
The victims become everyone else they rob or injure.
The law has been used for good and for evil? I’m shocked!
Well, good warning to not transmit the true value of your vehicle via bumper sticker.
I’m printing up bumper stickers claiming my vehicle is worth $150k and hoping somebody smashes into it.
My friend you’re thinking too small!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf7uJDhVZIE
There’s a sticker out there that says,
“Everything I own is worth more than your life”
Well, that’s something I did not know before. Thanks Mercedes! 🙂
I also like the surname Higginbotham… never heard that before either.
I’m partial to Diet Mountain Dew, but only buy it occasionally.
there’s a bookstore in india called Higginbotham’s. I’m pretty sure it dates back to 1844.
There was a Premier League footballer named Danny Higginbotham. He had a long if not particularly distinguished career.
Should have held out for the only good Mountain Dew flavor, Code Red.
I don’t know if I would be so magnanimous if someone stole my old Toyota, but then I actually like mine. Sounds like this guy wasn’t so fond of his in the first place.
Code Red is the best! Be careful about drinking too many bottles though, way too much caffeine.
I’ve actually cut back substantially on my consumption of it. At one point I did the math while on a road trip, and the bottles of Code Red I drank offset the calories burned from like an entire day’s worth of biking. Between that and cutting back on sugary snacks while driving I’ve lost a non-trivial amount of weight in the last year+.
And the best part is I didn’t cut out either of those completely, so it’s not like I’m depriving myself of something I like. I just make sure they’re a “treat”, not an everyday thing.
I’ve been off soda for about a decade or so now, but Mountain Dew is one of the few sodas I miss and get a craving for every so often.
Code Red is indeed great. Game Fuel (original, aka Citrus Cherry I guess?) was legendary. Live Wire was a go-to especially for morning drinking. Pitch Black’s first iteration was tasty. They came out around Halloween for a few years and it seemed like they changed the recipe each year.
Looking at a Fandom list of all the flavors, and seeing they have a Dragonfruit one now. Mmmmm…
Does sound like any arrangement is between the insurance Co and surreptitious driver
Dude was carrying comprehensive insurance on a beat up 1996 Camry worth $1700?
Yes, that’s a bit shocking. Maybe the premium was very modest.
Comprehensive is pretty cheap when the value is that low, plus it sounds like he had another vehicle, so the multi-vehicle discount would probably make it even cheaper. I had it on my cheap Silverado just so I could add the zero deductible glass coverage.
I carried comp on a late-90s Explorer I sold last fall. The cost difference between liability-only and comprehensive in the Colorado front range was $19 annually.
Comprehensive is a no brainer in a high crime city, especially without law enforcement.
If the car is only worth a mountain dew, isn’t it just petty theft to steal it?
I’m surprised the insurance company didn’t try to get their payout down to the the cost of a Baja Blast too, I mean the victim and perpetrator did kinda set precedent, and value.
It sounds like they paid out before this went to court. The next update in the story is when they come after him for a refund once they read this.
The guy’s face when he receives a bottle of Mountain Dew from his insurance company. lol
Mountain Dew is a powerful cleaning agent. It will take the enamel right off your teeth. Everything is better when you’re actively eating a taco.
I really like hearing about the justice system diverting people away from the prison system, and it’s even better when it’s a fun one like this. Glad the victim had a sense of humor and that it worked out for all involved. I hope it really does help this woman get her life on the right track.
Daily driving a very obvious stolen car is not someone that should be outside prison.
Wait, is stealing an attorney’s coat a felony in Oregon? What about the coats of other professions? Other articles of clothing belonging to attorneys?
No, it would be a misdemeanor, this arrangement is typically for those
This was one of those time where the headline was all I needed to know I was in for a very pleasant article.
Not the same sticker, but relevant: https://www.frogmustardstickers.com/products/baja-blast-sticker-cartruck?_pos=6&_sid=ac63f5f35&_ss=r
Wait, the victim got to drink the Mountain Dew? Talk about punishing the wrong person
“I know your car was stolen and totalled, but here’s some Mountain Dew Baja Blast” is a sentence that only precedes crippling depression.
“Geez. Tough break on your car. I’m really sorry. Here’s a haggis.”
“Ugh. I should not have stolen and wrecked your car. I feel bad. Here’s a handful of moistened lima beans.”
“Well, I did steal and wreck your car, but I’m really a nice person. To prove it, I soaked this sock in durian and I invite you to chew on it.”
I’d take a haggis. Those cost about $100 for a good one, which is probably all a 96 Camry with multiple mechanical issues is worth anyway
Tee Hee, I have truly spent more on a haggis(£20) than on a car
I have spent more on durian that on a car.
“Sorry for stealing your car. Here’s some malort to drown your sorrows.”
That’s a nasty punishment,the last time anyone I know drank Malort, we had to pull over on the interstate on the way north out of Illinois so the guy could throw up, he fell out of the car rolled down the embankment and lost his glasses.
We made him leave his shirt in the ditch also, he has no recollection of this happening so he claims it’s all a lie.It was before cell phones so there’s no evidence except we all know the truth.
I’d rather drink the gasoline…and the brake fluid…and the ATF…and the coolant…and the oil.
Come to think of it isn’t that the recipe for Malort?
Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities fans know there’s one less durian in Oregon lately…
Ugh, I’ll take a crab juice.
Perfection!
Best I can do is some Clamato-
In the dystopian AI future, Gens Z and X will no longer be able to communicate with each other. Z will communicate solely via emoji and tiktok slang, and X in only Simpsons quotes and Schwarzenegger catchphrases.
I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords!
Get to the choppa!
Get your @ss to Mars!
Uh-oh. Uh, you got a men’s room in there?
Only khlav kalash. Men’s room in tower. Tower.