Mandeville Canyon Attacker Pled Not Guilty...Everyone Totally Suprised

Christopher Thomas Thompson, the now infamous Mandeville Canyon motorist who intentionally tried to maim and possibly kill cyclists on July 4th was arraigned August 1st at the Airport Branch of the County Courthouse, and to everyone's surprise Mr. Thompson put in a plea of not guilty, essentially saying it wasn't an intentional act of violence...What? Yea I was totally shocked that he wasn't just like, "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids"... Mr. Thompson understandably had very little to say at to the press but his lawyer Peter Swarth who I could find almost no information on other than right here, did have some words. Now, I'm not going to say anything disparaging about Peter since he wasn't the one driving the car. I will say that he did give a public statement asking that people "Calm down and Lower the Heat" as his client has been receiving death threats via phone and through the internet. Huh..."People need to calm down"...what's that called, uh...oh yea, irony

I say that it's ironic that Mr. Swarth is making a request for calm as it's a very blatant lack of calm that has led to this whole explosion of uncalmness. If his client wasn't such a hot head in the middle of a massive adult temper tantrum this feeding frenzy wouldn't be happening. If anything Mr. Thompson should expect threats, by the thousands. Here's a guy who intentionally tried to maim two human beings. He made threatening remarks, attacked them and is now trying to get away with it. Interestingly enough it's not the first time either, as there was another report from March saying a similar car with the same license plate attacked two other cyclists. If I know anything about crime and criminals is this: if they get caught, it's probably not their first time.

Although I don't agree with making threats of any kind, especially empty ones, I do understand our community's frustration. Despite my beliefs I'm also not going to tell anyone to not make threats as verbal threats are a minor inconvenience that Mr. Thompson should have to deal with considering the very major threat he made and subsequent action that followed. I personally would have more than a few choice words for Mr. Thompson but I've learned in my old age that some folks never change.

I think in this guys case it's best to lock him up and throw away the key. And to that, I don't think they're charging this guy with enough. "Reckless Driving and Battery"? Seriously??? That's it??!? Well, at least he's being charged. And apparently the Feds are trying to get his licenses taken away as well. I'd hope so. You can read the full story here.