Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2717.asp

3/15/2009

Two Arrested in Louisiana and Spain for Speed Camera Attacks
Speed cameras attacked in Lafayette, Louisiana and Malaga, Spain. Police arrest suspects in each case.

Police in Louisiana and in Spain have arrested men accused of assaulting speed cameras earlier this month. At 10:30pm on March 6, a man rammed a speed camera van in Lafayette, Louisiana. According to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser newspaper, Douglas A. Begnaud, 42, turned himself in to police claiming responsibility for the incident on Ambassador Caffery Parkway that left a battered automated ticketing van lying in a ditch. Begnaud apparently had parked his 2008 GMC pickup truck in front of the van, blocking its ability to ticket. A shouting match ensued with the ticket van driver who ran away after being grabbed by Begnaud. In the police account, Begnaud used his truck to slam the van into a ditch.

Begnaud now faces charges of simple battery and simple criminal damage to property and. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1000 fine.

In Malaga, Spain, a man used a hammer to smash the lens of a Calle Pacifico speed camera on March 8 at 4am. Police arrested Francisco Javier L.J., 31, accusing him of the attack because his car received the last ticket before the autommated ticketing machine was disabled, Diario de Cadiz reported. Officials quickly ensured the device was repaired so it could resume ticketing. The damage was estimated at 400 Euros (US $517).