Ex-RTD Driver Gets 30 Days; 3 Knives Seized in Court

A former RTD bus driver was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and three years of probation after he pleaded no contest to driving with a license that had been suspended because of three previous drunk driving convictions, the city attorney’s office said.

Bailiffs seized three knives from the ex-driver, Bobby Bates Jr., after he became unruly during his court appearance and was taken into custody, city attorney’s spokesman Ted Goldstein said.

Bates was one of a dozen people--eight former drivers and four current drivers--for whom arrest warrants were issued after they failed to appear for arraignment last Thursday on charges of driving last fall with expired or suspended licenses.

One current driver, Roshaun Malone, was arrested by RTD police Wednesday and taken into custody by Los Angeles police pending a court hearing today.

Sadiki J.S. Shambulia, who also had continued to operate a bus despite the arrest warrant, pleaded guilty Wednesday to driving last fall with a suspended license and was fined $240 and placed on 36 months of probation.

Goldstein said the two remaining current drivers, Elton Barnes and Charles Gutter, were expected to appear voluntarily today. Gutter showed up for work Wednesday but fled when he learned that an arrest was pending, according to RTD spokesman Greg Davy.

Davy said all four drivers could continue to drive for RTD until their administrative hearings.

“If (drivers charged with crimes) do not commit a moral crime, or if the crime was not directly related to their duties, something they did on the bus, they can drive a bus until their hearing,” Davy said. “We assume that would hold true for these operators, too.”

In charges filed Jan. 5, 23 former or current drivers were accused of driving with licenses that had expired or been suspended. All but six have been arraigned or had their cases settled.

Goldstein described the Bates case as “the most serious of the 23.”

The county Transportation Commission votes to seek broad new powers over the RTD. Story on Page 14.