A man whose thundering Dodge Charger tormented Seattle residents for months was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $83,000 in fines, the heaviest penalty the city has imposed in months of largely ineffective enforcement efforts.
Miles Hudson, the driver known to many downtown residents and his more than 750,000 Instagram followers as the Belltown Hellcat, appeared in Seattle Municipal Court wearing a balaclava and sunglasses shielding his face from waiting television crews. He told Judge Faye Chess that he was working on restoring the car to its factory design.
“I have documentation that my car is in the shop and parts were ordered if the court wanted to see that,” Mr Hudson told the court.
But the judge wasn’t ready to let him go, agreeing to the city’s request to impose penalties for violations of the city’s noise rules. City officials said the fine was estimated at $1,300 a day.
“Today’s decision is an essential step toward stopping Mr. Hudson’s dangerous and disturbing activity,” Seattle City Attorney Anne Davison said in a statement. “Our laws matter and it’s time to obey them.”
Downtown residents have complained for much of the year about the tiger-striped car roaring through town at night, its exhaust tailpipes reacting with such force that windows rattle, waking people to what some have mistaken for gunshots. .
A police officer who stopped Mr. Hudson one night begged him to take his vehicle to a race track, footage from the officer’s body camera shows, with Mr. Hudson replying that he couldn’t because he made a living from his large following on Instagram , where he regularly posts videos of his city driving exploits, sometimes at speeds in excess of 100mph.
At times, Mr. Hudson seemed to revel in his growing fame and the consternation of neighbors and police alike. One night, from his apartment in a high-rise tower in the city’s Belltown neighborhood — a residence that offers panoramic views of Seattle’s waterfront — he shot a video as he remotely started his car from his balcony and the vehicle roared.
“My city really hates me,” he told viewers.
In addition to the lawsuit filed by the city that led to Tuesday’s default trial, he has been charged with reckless driving, a charge that is still pending. Mr Hudson said he would consult with his lawyer about paying the fine and said he expected the lawyer to be present at Tuesday’s hearing.
Driving offenses are just some of Mr Hudson’s legal troubles. In the Seattle suburb of Renton, a court is reviewing the terms of two previous domestic cases involving Mr. Hudson and his mother.
In a 2021 case, according to police documents, Mr. Hudson became angry when his mother was late picking him up from a haircut. When they returned home, both she and Mr. Hudson told the police that Mr. Hudson angrily knocked on her wardrobe and punched her in the back. He was initially charged with malicious conspiracy.
The following year, according to another police report, Mr Hudson’s mother said she had demanded to make him coffee. When she refused, he said, he grabbed the back of the chair she was sitting in and pulled her to the ground, sending her sprawling backwards. She said he then took her laptop, locked herself in his room and told her he wouldn’t get it back until she made him coffee. In that case he was charged with assault.
Mr Hudson eventually pleaded guilty to the assault charge, with much of the jail term suspended if he met conditions such as not breaking the law. But the court is now reviewing the case in light of his recent legal troubles.
In another case, a woman last month filed an order of protection against Mr. Hudson, accusing him of stalking her. She reported that he waited outside her workplace late one night and followed her home. She also told the court she had sent sexual images of herself to other people without their consent, which she described in her application as “revenge porn”.
Judge Chess told Mr. Hudson that the city might want to work with him to resolve the case and that the amount of the fine could be reviewed in the future.
“Maybe more work can be done and this car can be put into legal operation,” he said.
