Have you been cited for speeding in Eastville? A law firm wants to hear from you

EASTVILLE, Va. — You don’t want to speed if you’re driving on the East Coast, especially in the town of Eastville.

Law enforcement in this small town writes thousands of speeding tickets each year.

News 3’s investigative team continues to follow this case after first reporting on it last December. Now, a nonprofit law firm, Institute for Justice, is investigating the city and wants to speak to people who received speeding tickets.

Watch previous coverage: Don’t speed on the East Coast, especially in Eastville

Do not speed on the east coast, especially in Eastville

It is common to see people stopped by law enforcement while driving on Route 13.

Eastville resident Michael Guerra said people get pulled over all day long. He added that he supports strict traffic enforcement.

“It helps reduce traffic. It’s one of the busiest roads on the East Coast and too many people are speeding, especially if they’re not from here,” Guerra said.

Some, however, believe that the coercive measures are excessive.

Eastville resident Stuart Oliver has long been outspoken on the issue. He said police have been “harvesting tourists” on busy Route 13 for years.

According to census data, the town of Eastville has a population of about 300. However, town officers issued far more tickets than most other towns in our area.

The Institute for Justice, the group currently investigating the Eastville traffic enforcement, says its mission is to “end widespread abuses of government power and secure the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams.”

“We are currently trying to speak with people who were stopped by law enforcement while passing through Eastville,” said John Wrench, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice.

They said they were particularly interested in speaking to people who met one or both of the following criteria:

• People who have been arrested in Eastville in the last two years
• People who have information about what is happening with the ticketing process in the city

Watch previous coverage: Exmore Chief takes News 3 Investigative Team on patrol to highlight speeding problem

Exmore Chief Takes News 3 Investigative Team On Patrol To Show Speeding Problem

Wrench said one of the group’s main concerns is that fines levied on law enforcement make up the majority of the city’s revenue. He added that they are also concerned about the sharp increase in the public safety budget in recent years.

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the WTKR News 3 investigative team obtained budget information that breaks down Eastville’s revenue, expenses, losses and profits. You can view the budget information we obtained by clicking the link below.
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News 3 showed this budget information to ODU professor Ron Carlee, who served as city manager of Charlotte, North Carolina, and county manager of Arlington, Virginia.

He said the bulk of the budget comes from the police.

“That’s pretty much the structure of the city, other than the small water system they have,” Carlee said. “They’re located on Highway 13 and have the ability to collect a lot of fines.”

He said they built their city so they could maintain a very strict speed enforcement program.

The following chart shows the amount of revenue the city generates from law enforcement fines, according to data sent to us by city leaders.

Critics describe what is happening as a policy of policing for profit.

“When that legitimate interest in public safety is combined with the financial incentive to generate revenue, it just creates a perverse incentive for law enforcement,” Wrench said.

Former Eastville Police Chief Rob Stubbs was fired for unknown reasons in April.

At the time, Eastville Mayor Jim Sturgis told News 3 that council had lost confidence in Stubbs as city manager and Eastville police chief, but he did not elaborate.

News 3 obtained documents showing Stubbs received a severance check for $53,000.

Stubbs previously told News 3 the city follows the law and does not engage in policing for profit.

We asked current leaders about the Institute for Justice investigation, Stubbs’ firing and allegations of policing for profit. The mayor said the city would not comment.

Stubbs had previously told us they only stop drivers going 70 miles per hour or more with the posted speed limit at 55. He and other residents said speeding is a dangerous problem and enforcement is needed.

Critics say that if slowing traffic is the main goal, there are ways to achieve it other than issuing lots of tickets, especially when most of the people receiving tickets are from out of town.

“You can add bigger signs, you can add extra signs, you can put measures to draw people’s attention to the fact that there is a speed change. You can flash traffic lights to indicate the speed you are going. But when those devices are not used as much as they should be and instead you see towns and villages turning into speed cameras, I think that can be an indication of where the real priority is,” Wrench said.

No matter how you feel, one thing is for sure: if you’re driving on the East Shore, watch your speed.