A city traffic court judge found a tourist arrested for asking directions in Cherry Hill after an Orioles game not guilty Tuesday of running a stop sign.
In courtroom drama unusual for the city?s Wabash Avenue traffic court, Judge Kathleen Sweeney said there was not enough evidence to convict Josh Kelley of Chantilly, Va., for running the stop sign.
The arrest of Kelly and his girlfriend, Llara Brooks, ignited controversy after they said Baltimore police officer Natalie Preston arrested them for asking directions. The couple claimed that Preston refused to help them after they became lost trying to find Interstate 95 after an Orioles game.
Kelley said under oath that Preston was hostile.
“She said, ?You found your way in, you can find your way out,? ” Kelley said.
Preston said under questioning by Nathaniel Fick, the couple?s attorney, that they never asked for directions.
“They did not,” she said.
Cross-examining Brooks, Preston seemed defiant as officers in the front row of courtroom shook their heads and chuckled.
“Did you ever ask me for help?” Preston asked.
“Yes, ma?am, I did,” Brooks responded.
After the trial, Fick would not say if the couple was planning on filing a lawsuit against the city.
“We?re pleased with the judge?s verdict,” he said.
