Alleged tinting violations lead to felony charges

Martin Calderon was stopped for alleged window and tail-light tinting violations as he drove south on Interstate 75 in Gainesville shortly after 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Turns out the Avon Park man had bigger worries.

Calderon "was extremely nervous while I was talking to him at the passenger's window. His hands were shaking and he was very hesitant to move while he was looking for his" driver's license and "his voice was stuttering in cracking," Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Timothy Strickland wrote in his arrest report.

The stop came after Strickland said he noticed the windows of Calderon's car were tinted too dark and its brake lights were "tinted black."

"When I turned on my lights to stop the vehicle I could hardly see the brake lights," Strickland reported.

Strickland asked Calderon to step out of his vehicle and for permission to search it after calling in Trooper Robert Roux to assist him.

Calderon agreed to the search and Roux found 695 pirated DVDs films, 304 pirated CDs and 61 original music CDs in the trunk, as well at six DVD burners, a monitor and a "small DVD player with remote," Strickland said. "The original music CDs had a copied pirated CD attached.

"Mr. Calderon told Trooper Roux voluntarily that he pirated the DVDs and CDs so that he could pay his child support and parole fees," Strickland continued.

Included among the pirated films were "several that are current at the movie theatres," Strickland said.

In addition to getting the tinting citation, Calderon, who is 37 and lives at 702 W. State St. in Avon Park, was charged with four third-degree felonies: having more than seven audio-visual articles with intent to sell; having more than 100 sound articles with intent to sell; having private labels with a value of at least $1,000; and having items with a counterfeit value of more than $2,500 but less than $20,000.

The stop "shows that the troopers are out there doing their jobs," said Lt. Pat Riordan, the spokesman for FHP Troop B.

In addition to catching speeders and other traffic violators, troopers are looking for all types of criminal activity, Riordan added.