Illegal camping citation issued on April 25, 2014 in the Trabuco Canyon Area of Cleveland National Forest was dismissed on June 1, 2014.
Tag: Mule Citations and Court Cases
Torrey Pines State Reserve
CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED!
Sharon Sherman, the attorney who helped Mule on this case, sent this note on November 22, 2013: “I received in the mail today notification that the charges against John here in San Diego have been dropped, the fine set aside and the trial date vacated.” Thank you, Sharon, for the time you spent on this case, pro bono!
Hwy 101/Gilroy arrest
The Mules were arrested on southbound Highway 101 near Gilroy. The Mules were told that we were unsafe, get off or be arrested and we were arrested.
Safety is being used as a smoke screen to disguise the real reason we were arrested. The real reason is to make these public right of ways for the exclusive use of the automobile, the suburban model of getting around. All other venues of usage are to be gotten rid of. The declaration of safety is the mechanism by which the Megatropolis and this enforcement agency, the CHP, has decided to go forth with to get the job done.
We are as safe as anybody could be under those circumstances. It’s not our fault that the state of California is allowing these automobiles to move at these horrendous speeds. These speeds are killing people, maiming people, it goes on all day every day. The insurance rates are outrageous and very well understand the chances are that when you get into these automobiles with your children, your families, you’re going to turn into a bucket of blood. It happens every day, all day. These automobiles are not safe.
We move at 2-3 miles per hour. We’re not going to hurt anybody. We never have. We don’t deal out death and destruction as we go along. The automobile does. We are not going to give up our right to move freely in this country.
These public thoroughfares are all that is left. There is no other mechanism to express your right to freedom to move that body of yours from one place to the next when you choose how you choose. When that’s gone, that’s the bone of freedom you don’t have any freedom.
We are not going to give it up. Our way of life depends on moving, living with our surroundings, the trees, the grass, the brush, the insects, the animals, with a meaningful relationship, reacting to these forces all day long with our feet on the ground surrounded by that energy. We have to have the right to do that using the public thoroughfare.
We’re not going to give up that right. When the Megatropolis tries to disguise its real purpose using safety as the mechanism, it’s real purpose is to remove all other venues other than the automobile from the public right of way. It’s to get rid of us, there is no question about it.
That’s the end result as we have reported of our arrest in Gilroy. The end result is jail. They put us in jail and then they tried to commit us to a mental institution, a mental hospital for involuntary treatment, force feed us drugs, destroy our minds, destroy our ability to get back out and walk all day every day. That was attempted. Make no mistake about it, we know what was attempted. We are going to harp on this subject, talk about it. We’re not going to let it go.
Napa, CA arrest
Napa Valley Register article published June 26, 2013:
CHP: Man arrested, cited for highway mule incident
A 65-year-old man was arrested just south of the Butler Bridge on Wednesday after allegedly walking three, fully-packed mules on the fast-lane shoulder of Highway 29, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Wednesday afternoon, authorities responded to reports that a man was walking mules on the northbound shoulder of Highway 29 toward the Butler Bridge, which has no shoulder, the CHP said. When officers arrived, the man allegedly became irate and was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and not obeying traffic signs, an infraction.
John Sears was booked into the Napa jail at 3:30 p.m. on the charges, according to the booking report. A city of residence was not listed for the suspect, only California.
The CHP said it did not know why Sears was walking the mules on the side of the highway, where they were going or from where they came. According to 3mules.com (a domain name registered to a John Sears of Phoenix, Ariz.), the mules, “are from the outside. (They) live outside all day, every day. Where are (they) going? Nowhere.”
“Sometimes people catch up to them, snap a photo and try to talk to the 65-year-old man who just likes to be called, ‘Mule,’” the website states. “They find that Mule is a man of few words, especially when he’s moving on city streets to get safely to the next destination.”
According to the website, Sears and his three mules, which appear to travel in a line, have been walking for nearly three decades and have traveled three states. In 2012, the group was cited for illegal camping, according to the website.
The CHP said it is illegal for pedestrians and their pets to walk on a highway. The animals were in the care of animal control Wednesday afternoon.