Motocross racer bribes deputies with event tickets after DUI arrest

CHINO HILLS -- A professional motorcycle racer's legal woes went from bad to worse last weekend after he tried to bribe San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies who arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving.

Jered Peter Thomas, a low-level Motocross racer, offered three deputies free tickets to upcoming racing events if they agreed to "let him off" or reduce his drunken-driving charge, according to a police report attached to his court file.

Rather than accept his offer, authorities added felony bribery to the list of charges filed this week against the 20-year-old Chino native.

A deputy monitoring traffic in Chino Hills at about 4:45 p.m. Sunday saw Thomas make an erratic turn in his GMC truck and hop a curb onto a front yard at Chino Hills Parkway and Rolling Ridge Drive.

Thomas backed up over some shrubs and drove away, and the deputy pulled him over, according to the police report.

The Motocross racer told a deputy he hadn't been drinking alcohol, but a breath test at the scene yielded a blood-alcohol measurement of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit.

It wasn't until after he was arrested and taken to the Chino Hills sheriff's station that Thomas began to barter with deputies for his release.

Thomas, who now lives in Perris, first made the alleged bribe to a deputy who was processing his paperwork, according to the police report.

He told Deputy Justin Howe he had a prior DUI on his record, and his sponsorships and standing as a professional Motocross racer would be in jeopardy if he logged another drunken-driving conviction.

Thomas offered the deputy six tickets to upcoming events in San Diego and Anaheim, ensuring the deputy "prime" seats for the events, according to the police report.

When Howe turned down Thomas' offer, the racer asked to speak to the deputy's supervisor.
Howe retrieved the watch commander on his shift, Sgt. Chris Ilizaliturri, and Thomas extended the bribe to Ilizaliturri and another deputy, according to the police report.

"Thomas said he had a total of eight tickets per event which were located in the highly desired family seating area near the front," Ilizaliturri wrote in the report.

Thomas offered deputies six tickets for each event -- to be split between the three deputies -- but he said he couldn't part with the final two tickets because he had promised them to his parents, according to the police report.

The racer acknowledged that the deputies could lose their jobs if they accepted a bribe, but Thomas "assured his silence" and told deputies he had successfully bribed an officer in the past to escape a speeding ticket.

Thomas told the deputies that about nine months ago, he was pulled over in Riverside County for driving faster than than 90 mph in a 65 mph zone.

He said the officer accepted a bribe of two tickets to last year's Winter X Games. Thomas told deputies he e-mailed the tickets to the officer.

"I asked Thomas if he was fully aware of the potential legal consequences he placed us into for offering a bribe to Howe, (Deputy Ruben) Perez and I," Ilizaliturri wrote. "Thomas assured us he was fully aware of the ramifications.

"In order to assure us and minimize our concerns, Thomas said that his mother's ex-husband was a law enforcement officer."

Thomas pleaded not guilty to felony bribery and two misdemeanor drunken-driving charges when he appeared for arraignment Wednesday in Chino Superior Court.

He was released from custody Thursday after posting $25,000 bail, and is next due in court Tuesday.