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Courtesy photo / Andrew Ouellette, 13 of Port Orange, faces a felony bribery charge after trying to talk his way out of a speeding ticket while riding his Yamaha sport bike at 3:30 in the morning, according to a deputy's report.PORT ORANGE -- A 20-year-old motorcyclist was charged with bribery early Saturday morning by offering money to a Volusia County Sheriff's deputy to get out of a speeding ticket and wound up going to jail instead.
The incident occurred at about 3:30 a.m., when the deputy spotted a speeding motorcycle traveling northbound on Nova Road in the Port Orange area.
The deputy pulled over Andrew Ouellette on his Yamaha sport bike near the intersection of Herbert Street and Old Hammock Road after spotting him going 67 mph in a 50 mph zone on Nova Road.
The young biker, who was wearing a helmet, told the deputy that he had received several citations recently and couldn't afford another one, according to the deputy's report.
"He then asked the deputy not to give him a ticket and proceeded to ask if there was anything he could do to avoid getting a ticket, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. When the deputy didn't respond, the defendant walked up to the deputy, pulled out a roll of money from his pocket and asked: 'Are you sure we can't do anything?' "
When the deputy handcuffed Ouellette, the biker insisted he didn't mean for his comment to be taken as a bribe.
However, he also couldn't provide another explanation for the meaning of his comment, Davidson said and was subsequently placed under arrest on a charge of bribery of a public servant, a felony, and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on $2,500 bond. He also was ticketed for violation of a traffic control device for not stooping at a stop sign. He later posted bail and was released, pending a future court appearance.