Interest

Decepticon Maserati Driver Heading to Court

Anime News Network got in touch with the driver of the modified Maserati this week for details on the ongoing saga that's landing him a date in Quincy District Court. The driver, who asked to remain anonymous, regularly changes the color of the US$99,698 car with plasti dip. The Decepticon plasti dip was just the latest in his monthly car make-overs this summer. He also told ANN that while he most often drives the car, it is technically in his wife's name.

According to to the driver, he took the paint specifications to the Braintree Police Department a month ago, where it was allegedly approved by an officer that day. He then had the car made over a few days later on July 25 at Boston Dip And Detail in Walpole, Massachusetts. He says he drove it without issue for two weeks.

On August 9, the Maserati driver was pulled over by Braintree patrol officer Blake Holt. The driver also says two other officers, a female and male, were there during the conversation and that he told them the design was approved. According to the driver, he was not arrested but was informed he may be brought to court for impersonating a police officer. The driver gave the police his address and that he would be seeking a lawyer. He states that he wasn't given any kind of ticket nor was he arrested.

Braintree Deputy Police Chief Wayne Foster told The Patriot Ledger that the driver told Holt that he believed he was assisting the police "because other drivers noticed him and slowed down, thinking it was a police vehicle." The driver denies making these comments, stating that he only meant that drivers slow down because his car is expensive, not because it looks like a police vehicle.

The Patriot Ledger's Lane Lambert told Anime News Network they received the tip about the Maserati from a passerby who witnessed the incident.

The driver received a summons to Quincy District Court on Monday and is being charged with a misdemeanor. The court date is set for Thursday, August 28 but the driver said it may be delayed until September because his lawyer is out of town. Nonetheless, the Maserati owner remains optimistic about his chances in court,

"My lawyer told me that we have a very big chance to win. He said he wouldn't worry about the case if he was me, since I have clean criminal and driving record. I don't even have a parking ticket."