Prosecutors Move to Drop Fines of Blue Line Riders
Prosecutors on Wednesday took steps to dismiss the $90 fines levied against four senior citizens who were ejected from a Blue Line commuter train because of a 20-cent mistake on their transfers.
The move came after widespread news reports about the fines.
Thomas Romeyan, assistant head deputy of the district attorney’s Compton office, said the dismissal would be sought “in the interest of justice.”
Willard Zahn and three others were charged with fare evasion after the Nov. 19 incident on the new rail line. The four boarded a bus in Long Beach and asked for transfers to the Blue Line.
After they boarded the train, a sheriff’s deputy checked their transfers and discovered they had been given 5-cent tickets for transferring between buses, rather than 10-cent transfers for switching to the Blue Line.
Deputies removed the four from the train and issued citations carrying $90 fines for each of them.
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