He’s gonna need a good lawyer (August 7, 2017)

Marc Puckett

According to Apple Valley Assistant Town Manager for Finance Marc Puckett, the other night when he was driving home, minding his own business, a complete stranger just happened to see him drive off the road, and decided to stop her car and lie to the CHP by blaming him for some pre-existing rear-end damage on her car (“Vehicle belonging to AV town manager involved in hit-and-run,” Daily Press, August 7). What a coincidence that others who have accused him of wrongdoing have been lying, too (according to Mr. Puckett).

Sure, it was his vehicle. Sure, he was driving the car. Sure, he was in an accident. Sure he left the scene. Sure, he didn’t come back until the next day. But look at it from his side.

“Something ran out in front” of him (maybe a jackalope). It happened so fleetingly he didn’t swerve or brake or lose control of his vehicle … he simply “went down the embankment.” His cell phone was dead because who carries a phone charger for a 90-minute commute? His standard-equipment OnStar Automated Crash Response had taken the night off, so it was no help. Fortunately, he was able to walk off into the wilderness away from the freeway and borrow a cell phone from a guy who just happened to be under a cholla there at midnight. That guy (and his call log) will certainly corroborate Mr. Puckett’s story. If only he had called the police right away, they could, too.

For that matter, too bad he wasn’t still around when the other driver walked over to his car to get the VIN for identification purposes. He not only could have used her cell phone, he could have told her what a liar she is right to her face. While he was waiting for her, he could have gathered his personal belongings, so he wouldn’t have had to go to the impound yard the next day, but hindsight is 20-20, I guess.

He returned the next day without a tow truck because everyone knows how easy it is to drive a totaled vehicle out of a flood control channel. Did that woman lie to the towing company to get them to tow a perfectly good totaled Cadillac? We may never know.

At least we have Mr. Puckett’s word for it that this is no big deal because we know from experience that when the facts matter, he lies like crazy.

Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.


Files dealing with Marc Puckett