Judge: Dad who let 9-year-old drive to stand trial

By: North County Times wire services | Tuesday, May 24, 2005 9:48 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO - A father accused of being drunk and allowing his 9-year-old son drive a car while a younger son sat in the back seat must stand trial on child endangerment and public intoxication charges, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Victor Leroy Freeman, 54, who works as a stagehand in Las Vegas, was in San Diego on Mother's Day and took his boys to Campland on the Bay at Mission Bay, according to testimony at his preliminary hearing.

The defendant's 9-year-old son testified that his father drank a can of beer at a hotel before taking him and his little brother to Mission Bay.

After returning to the hotel, the boy called his mother to let her know their father was bringing them home, the child testified.

The 9-year-old said it was both his and his father's idea to let him drive.

"I said, 'Dad, what's it like driving?"' the boy testified.

He said his father pulled over near a mini-mart and the two switched seats and put on their seatbelts.

The boy said he saw a police officer turn her lights on behind him, but continued to drive across a street because his father didn't want him to stop the car where it was.

"I accidentally drove up onto a curb," the boy testified.

His father had his hand on the steering wheel, and he used his feet on the accelerator and the brake, the boy said.

The car was smoking and flames were coming from the underside of the vehicle, the youngster testified.

He said he was "sad and scared" when he saw the police officer come up from behind.

"I was scared because I thought the car was going to blow up," the boy said. "I was sad because my dad was going to jail."

He told defense attorney Gary Gibson that he was only behind the wheel for about 30 seconds.

The child said his mother's station wagon came to rest next to a telephone pole about six to seven houses away from her home.

San Diego police Officer Janine Van Antwerp testified that she pulled up behind the Freeman vehicle on Mount Acadia Boulevard in Clairemont about 8:30 p.m.

She said she noticed flames coming from under the car and turned on her overhead lights. The officer testified that she pulled up next to the car and noticed a young boy in the driver's seat.

"He had a wide-eyed look on his face," the officer testified. "He looked very frightened."

The child drove down a block and turned right, never exceeding 20 mph, Van Antwerp testified.

Once the car stopped, Freeman and the boys got out of the station wagon and the defendant leaned against the nearby telephone pole, the officer testified.

Freeman swaggered, swayed and was "unresponsive," the officer said.

The defendant initially denied the 9- and 6-year-old boys were his and also denied that the car was on fire, Van Antwerp said.

The boys' mother came running with a garden hose, and the officer sprayed the blaze with a fire extinguisher, Van Antwerp testified.

The officer testified that Freeman told her he had consumed two beers.

She said the defendant smelled like he had spoiled mayonnaise on the front of his shirt.

A sergeant who arrived on the scene said he smelled on odor of an alcoholic beverage on the defendant's breath, but his blood-alcohol level was never tested, Van Antwerp said.

Deputy District Attorney Harrison Kennedy told Judge Albert Harutunian III that Freeman's lack of sobriety interfered with his judgment and ability to care for his boys.

The judge agreed, saying the 9-year-old had no skills of driving and had "no business" behind the wheel.

He ordered Freeman to stand trial July 13 on two counts of child endangerment likely to produce great bodily injury or death and a misdemeanor count of public intoxication.

Gibson said Freeman's action's were "bonehead stupid," but didn't amount to felony conduct.

"This is a good dad that did something stupid," the defense attorney said.

Gibson called Freeman's $30,000 bail "excessive" and convinced to judge to schedule a bail review for Thursday.

The attorney said the defendant was in the process of moving from Las Vegas to San Diego when the incident with his boys occurred.

A readiness conference was scheduled for June 29.

"This case is going to resolve," Gibson told the judge.