FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: (As received) Hi. My name is Ray Hymer. I am writing to you about the breaking news article that has been posted about my case. ~http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=40583~ This article has incorrect information, and I would like to explain, and maybe the record can be set straight. 1. The article starts out with stating that I got probation and 30 days in jail for operating on ongoing motorcycle theft ring. This is false! As stated later in the article, the exact charge was conducting a chop shop, with the reason being that I possessed a motorcycle with an altered VIN. The problem with that rationale is that I did not possess such an item. Just so you know, the only motorcycle that was reported stolen (that was found at my house) was proven to be a legitimate bike, an XR 50, and the previous owner came in and testified, with the title in his hand, that I had purchased the bike from him. Even the judge commented, prior to sentencing, that he had a lot of questions about the charge, but he has to respect the verdict, and hand down a sentence. Thus the sentence that I received, which many people feel is too light. 2. When the list of charges is shown, they fail to mention that I was found not guilty on all of the remaining charges. All of the theft of means, trafficking, conspiracy, etc did not result in any guilty verdicts. 3. $1,000,000 in stolen bikes? Even using the figure of 39 X even $10,000 doesn’t even come close to a million dollars. 4. The mention of the WERA thread says that I was trying to defend my reputation. I was very clear on why I was posting. First, it was to answer the comment that said my 16 year old daughter, Vanessa, was a scum bag. Then it turned into countering the misinformation that the posters had been writing. This has nothing to do with reputation, it has to do with being accurate. I would still be responding if it were not for the fact that one of the victims of the charges, that I was found not guilty, posted on that forum. I asked the probation department for approval to respond to him, since he was asking questions that he wanted me to answer. They explained that he was a victim from the original case with 50 counts, and that I cannot have any contact with him, regardless if I were found not guilty on his particular charge. I would like to know if your magazine would like to do an interview with me, and I would be happy to answer any questions. I wish this could have been done prior to your breaking news article, but what’s done is done. I don’t expect any nice treatment, the interview can be as aggressive as you feel is necessary. My only request is that when you get your answers, that you take them into consideration when you write the conclusion part of the interview. I believe that an appeal is being readied, and when that is filed, I will have the transcript of the trial, and I would be happy to give you a copy, so you can better prepare for the interview. You have my number, I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Ray Hymer Glendale, Arizona (With Footnotes Added) Hi. My name is Ray Hymer. I am writing to you about the breaking news article that has been posted about my case. ~http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=40583~ This article has incorrect information, and I would like to explain, and maybe the record can be set straight. 1. The article starts out with stating that I got probation and 30 days in jail for operating on ongoing motorcycle theft ring.(1) This is false! As stated later in the article, the exact charge was conducting a chop shop, with the reason being that I possessed a motorcycle with an altered VIN. The problem with that rationale is that I did not possess such an item. Just so you know, the only motorcycle that was reported stolen (that was found at my house) was proven to be a legitimate bike, an XR 50, and the previous owner came in and testified, with the title in his hand, that I had purchased the bike from him. Even the judge commented, prior to sentencing, that he had a lot of questions about the charge, but he has to respect the verdict, and hand down a sentence. Thus the sentence that I received, which many people feel is too light. 2. When the list of charges is shown, they fail to mention that I was found not guilty on all of the remaining charges. (2) All of the theft of means, trafficking, conspiracy, etc did not result in any guilty verdicts. (3) 3. $1,000,000 in stolen bikes? Even using the figure of 39 X even $10,000 doesn’t even come close to a million dollars. (4) 4. The mention of the WERA thread says that I was trying to defend my reputation (5). I was very clear on why I was posting. First, it was to answer the comment that said my 16 year old daughter, Vanessa, was a scum bag. Then it turned into countering the misinformation that the posters had been writing. This has nothing to do with reputation, it has to do with being accurate (6). I would still be responding if it were not for the fact that one of the victims of the charges, that I was found not guilty, posted on that forum. I asked the probation department for approval to respond to him, since he was asking questions that he wanted me to answer. They explained that he was a victim from the original case with 50 counts, and that I cannot have any contact with him, regardless if I were found not guilty on his particular charge. I would like to know if your magazine would like to do an interview with me, and I would be happy to answer any questions. I wish this could have been done prior to your breaking news article, but what’s done is done. I don’t expect any nice treatment, the interview can be as aggressive as you feel is necessary. My only request is that when you get your answers, that you take them into consideration when you write the conclusion part of the interview. I believe that an appeal is being readied, and when that is filed, I will have the transcript of the trial, and I would be happy to give you a copy, so you can better prepare for the interview. You have my number, I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Ray Hymer Glendale, Arizona Footnotes: (1) The story on roadracingworld.com stated, “Arizona court officials said”; the complete passage read, “A CCS/SW racer has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years probation for operating along with his son an ongoing motorcycle theft ring that involved high-end, high-performance sportbikes, Arizona court officials said.” (2) The story on roadracingworld.com stated, “said William FitzGerald, spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office…Hymer was found guilty by a jury of one count of Conducting a Chop Shop, a class 2 felony offense, for possessing a motorcycle with an altered vehicle identification number, FitzGerald said.” (3) The story on roadracingworld.com stated, “Both Hymers were charged with multiple counts of theft of means, trafficking in stolen property, conspiracy, operating a chop shop…state records indicate.” (4) The story on roadracingworld.com stated, “According to Arizona Department of Public Safety documents, agents recovered ’39 stolen motorcycles and components, four stolen trailers, tools and equipment, computers and documents used for facilitating the criminal operations and a multitude of motorcycles that had the vehicle identification numbers (VIN) ground off. Additional motorcycles were seized with re-stamped false VIN numbers. Most of the stolen motorcycles were high end; high performance sport-racing bikes which in addition to the other seized items had a total value of $1,000,000.00 for the recovered stolen property.'” (5) The story on roadracingworld.com stated, “Ray Hymer attempted to defend his reputation in a thread on the WERA BBS, which at post time had evolved into a 73-page epic running from January into May 2010, complete with postings apparently made by Ray Hymer, proclaiming his innocence; Steven Hymer’s mother, defending Steven Hymer; and a motorcycle theft victim who testified in Ray Hymer’s trial.” (6) In post 990 on the referenced WERA thread, “racerray11” with the tagline “RAY HYMER #11 CCS SW REGION” posted: “I am not a criminal except in the sense that I was convicted of a crime. One court decision will make me a non-criminal. I don’t commit crimes, I value honesty, and I don’t want what is not mine, nor do I feel that it is right to steal. What more do you want?” In post 979, he posted “I did not commit a crime.” In post 970, he posted, “I never stole anything.” In post 693, he posted, “Each time there is misinformation, I will ask proof, and guess what? No one has any proof, just accusations. If you say that I was found guilty, well, I was. But if you say I was found guilty of stealing, then you are wrong, and I will defend myself.” In post 690, he posted, “has anyone noticed that there are zero people that are posting here that I have done anything bad to them? If I were such the bad guy, you would expect a flood of people telling horrifying stories of the things I have done to them.” In post 640, he posted, “I would treat anyone with kindness and respect. I always have, unless physically provoked (as opposed to verbally). I’m not aggressive, but I respond to disrespect with the same humor and wit that I show here. As you see me on here, I am the same in person. You may get the chance to meet me if Vanessa decides to race in California. If she is at the track, I would hope that all of you would be respectful of her. Those of you that do know me would more than likely walk straight up to me and call me fat, shake my hand, and laugh.” In post 639, he posted, “Most people would use logic and say that there must be more than meets the eye. You guys take the negative position and just want to sit on the sidelines and jeer.” In post 625, he posted, “I don’t know about smart, but I AM witty.” In post 618, he posted, “Dang, I have said over and over that I feel bad for EVERY one of the victims of ALL 50 counts. That isn’t remorse, but it shows that I do feel badly for them. Their losses were not because I stole a damn thing, but possibly as a result of my lack of action, or being mis lead by others. Who here hasn’t been mis lead by their wife, family member, or a friend? I guess none of you!” In post 45, his first post on the referenced WERA BBS thread (~http://forums.13x.com/showpost.php?p=2978325&postcount=45~), he posted, “Hi, this is Ray Hymer. I joined this forum to address what you are all saying, and maybe educate you about the case. My trial starts on Tuesday, March 30. I am going to post on stone’s forum about the daily developments. I’ll try to post responses on this forum, but I am unsure about my time availability after Tuesday. The trial is supposed to last 2 weeks. I have maintained my innocense from day 1, over 4 years ago. As the details come out, I will put them in a daily recap here: ~http://www.allstoneallthetime.com/fo…ic.php?t=10597~ I can understand why some of you would post things that say how bad I am, or how I must be a thieving bastard, etc. You all believe what you read in the newspapers, or on a forum. I suggest that you wait until the trial is going, and hear how silly their whole case is. They have a lot of 1 + 1 = 3 conclusions. Guilty by association, that kind of thing. To those that suggest that I STFU (apparently to avoid incriminating myself), I am careful not to reveal defense strategy (for fear of the prosecution attempting to distort facts), but I have no problem telling the truth to anyone that asks. Did I steal even a single motorcycle?? Not on your life!! Did I run a chop shop?? Absolutely not! As hard as it is for any of you to believe, there actually is no evidence of me doing either.” Note that his first post on the referenced WERA BBS thread (~http://forums.13x.com/showpost.php?p=2978325&postcount=45~) mentions nothing about any comments concerning his daughter Vanessa. Other WERA BBS posts can be found here: ~http://forums.13x.com/search.php?searchid=3448228&pp=25~ The sentencing document can be found here: ~http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/052010/m4233050.pdf~ Another WERA BBS thread mentioning both Ray Hymer and stolen motorcycles can be found here: ~http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=60875~ (To be continued…)