Could have gotten away with it easily: Romeo Beckham ignored the police and was convicted at trial

Westminster Magistrates’ Court convicted 23-year-old Romeo Beckham, son of David and Victoria, of driving without proper control of the vehicle, and sentenced him to three points on his license. Apart from the points, Beckham Jr. will be forced to part with 440 pounds sterling as a fine, another 130 pounds sterling for court costs and another 176 pounds sterling as an additional payment.

How does a member of the British-Hollywood aristocracy find himself convicted in a court of law? It turns out that Romeo chose the worst possible strategy to deal with the authorities: complete ignoring. This conviction came as part of a quick legal process that is conducted behind closed doors, and was determined solely on the basis of police evidence, after Romeo did not even bother to file a statement of defense. The police, by the way, claim that they actually offered him to pay a small fine and go to a preventive driving course to avoid criminal proceedings – but he simply did not respond to the offer.

The event in question took place in September of last year. Romeo cruised to Westminster in his shiny Porsche 911, and stopped at a red light. A policeman passing by looked into the vehicle and realized that an “unknown woman” was sitting in the seat next to the driver, and a loose dog was sitting on her lap.

Under British law, pets must be leashed in the vehicle so as not to distract the driver, but the dog was only the tip of the iceberg. The officer testified that Romeo was simply sitting with his head down, holding his smartphone low on his lap, close to the steering wheel – scrolling the screen with both thumbs.

The officer stopped the vehicle, gave Romeo a mild reprimand about the loose dog, and recorded the report on the smartphone, as according to the assessment, the privileged driver was completely “distracted” and not in control of his vehicle.