Crime & Safety

Band That Shut Down 101 Freeway Ordered to Pay $39,000 to Dept. of Transportation

Judge Norm Shapiro issues the order for payment during a restitution hearing Tuesday.

This story was posted by Craig Clough. It was written by City News Service.

Three members of an Orange County band—on probation for performing atop a truck on the Hollywood (101) Freeway that caused a massive traffic jam—were ordered today to pay $39,350.39 to the state Department of Transportation.

Christopher Roy Wright, 34, David Paul Hale, 32, and Keith R. Yackey, 33, were sentenced in October to three years probation and 35 days of community labor. They pleaded no contest to one felony count of conspiracy, one misdemeanor count of public nuisance and two misdemeanor counts of resisting, obstructing or delaying law enforcement officers in October.

Judge Norm Shapiro issued the order for payment during a restitution hearing Tuesday.

The trio make up The Imperial Stars, a self-described "hard-core hip hop band" with a song called "Traffic Jam 101." See video footage of the incident here.

During a preliminary hearing, Los Angeles police Sgt. Salvador Ogaz testified that he drove onto the freeway after seeing a number of people on an overpass with cell phones, then saw three people on top of a large truck singing and playing music on the freeway near Sunset Boulevard just after 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2010.

"I observed traffic had been stopped, pretty much all lanes, except the number four lane," the sergeant testified. He activated the patrol car's siren and lights and told the musicians to come down from the truck, but also said that they probably didn't hear him.

Ultimately, Los Angeles firefighters put a ladder on the truck, and the musicians climbed down. The truck, fitted with speakers, photos of the band and barbed wire, was parked across three of four southbound lanes. By the time authorities shut down the impromptu concert, the driver had fled with the keys to the truck, which was eventually towed away.

"The traffic was stopped for miles, at least a mile for sure," Ogaz testified. "We were there a long time."


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