LOS ANGELES – A Swedish businessman who crashed a rare, $1.5-million
Ferrari in Malibu pleaded no contest Thursday to drunk driving.
Next week, Bo Stefan Eriksson, 44, will be in court to face charges of
felony grand theft and embezzlement.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Schnegg will
sentence Eriksson for the drunk driving offense at the conclusion of his
trial. First time DUI offenders are usually sentenced to probation and
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the
district attorneys’ office.
Eriksson, 44, is a former executive of the now-bankrupt video game
company Gizmondo Europe. Prosecutors contend he was drunk on Feb. 21 when
he plowed a red Enzo Ferrari into a utility pole on Pacific Coast Highway
at 162 mph.
Authorities originally accused him of stealing the rare vehicle from a
British bank, but dropped those charges this week. He still is charged
with stealing two other cars, a black Enzo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR
McLaren.
Authorities contend Eriksson defrauded British banks who loaned him
money to buy the fancy cars. Once he had the cars, Eriksson would take
them to the United States and halt payments on the loans, authorities
said.
On Monday, Eriksson turned down a plea offer which required him to
plead guilty to stealing the Mercedes and the black Enzo. He agreed to
plead no contest to misdemeanor drunken driving because "it’s always
better to fess up what you’ve done," said his attorney, James
Parkman.
"We want to fight the battle where the battle is," Parkman said. "It
makes no sense to chase windmills and waste the jury’s time and the
court’s time."
Eriksson could face up to 11 years in prison if convicted of the
felony charges.
Eriksson, who has a Swedish criminal record for extortion, assault and
other crimes, will be tried separately on another felony charge of being
a felon in possession of a firearm – a .357-Magnum handgun found in his
Bel-Air home during an April search.
See pictures of crash: http://www.wreckedexotics.com/special/enzo/
Associated Press Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
