Posted Nov 25th 2009 3:15PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Shriver ... did she get a special break yesterday when she went muffin/shoe shopping in Santa Monica, CA and left her SUV next to an expired parking meter? We decided to see for ourselves, and frankly ... we didn't do so well.
TMZ's intrepid muffin-eating reporter, Gary, went to Peet's Coffee -- the scene of Maria's crime. Gary left his whip at an expired meter and went inside for an orange-cranberry muffin. Gary was gorging himself when he looked out the window and saw a parking enforcement lady drive up to his car and get out.
Gary ran outside and pleaded, "I'm sorry. My meter must have ran out. I was inside getting muffins that were very important. I'm leaving right now."
Her response: "Sorry, there's nothing I can do for you. That's the way it is." She proceeded to write Gary a $50 parking ticket.
In fairness, Gary did not have a Dignitary Protection deputy to plead his case.
But, Gary says, the muffin was "delicious."
UPDATE: We apologize to Gary's mother ... who was under the impression he was on a diet.
Filed under: Politix, Exclusives, Maria Shriver, Muffingate
Tags: arnold schwarzeneggar, ArnoldSchwarzeneggar, california, governor, maria shriver, MariaShriver, muffingate, parking, parking ticket, ParkingTicket, santa monica, SantaMonica
Posted Nov 25th 2009 12:15PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Shriver crossed the line yesterday when she went shoe and muffin shopping in Santa Monica yesterday without feeding her meter ... but several law enforcement sources say they also have problems with the way the situation was handled.
One law enforcement source says he would have handled it this way: "Maria, put a quarter in the meter!" He had no good answer why Maria didn't get ticketed and why a CHP deputy in the Dignitary Protection Unit stepped in to convince the parking cop to back off on writing a citation.
Initially, a rep from the Santa Monica PD told TMZ if Maria had a placard on her dash showing she was on official business the cop wouldn't write the ticket. But there was no placard in the window and last we checked eating a muffin and shopping for shoes has nothing to do with the business of California.
The rep also said the cop had "discretion" in writing a ticket. But another law enforcement source said Maria should have to pay the piper, one way or the other.
As for driving off without a seat belt, the Santa Monica official told us no one saw it.
As for official comment from law enforcement -- everyone seems scared to cross Guv Arnold Schwarzenegger, so mum's the word.
So far, no comment from the Governor's office either. Ditto Maria's.
Filed under: Politix, Exclusives, Maria Shriver, Muffingate
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, maria shriver, MariaShriver, muffingate
Posted Nov 25th 2009 9:55AM by TMZ Staff
Not to be outdone by hubby Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver broke two more road rules yesterday, but again she got off scot-free.
The rebellious First Lady of California was walking out of Peet's Coffee in Santa Monica when a vigilant parking enforcement officer noticed her meter had expired. The officer pulled out his rusty, trusty "auto-cite" device to ticket the vehicle, when suddenly one of Maria's security dudes ran up to him, flashed something at the officer and did some fast talking.
In the end, the officer backed off without writing a ticket. Maria then got in her SUV, took off her glasses and began eating her muffin as the expired meter continued blinking.
Oh, and there's this .... she drove off without securing her seat belt.
A Santa Monica police official tells TMZ writing a parking ticket is "discretionary." He also said if Maria was on official business she'd be exempt from parking laws, provided she had a placard on the dash. We saw no placard and -- last we checked -- eating a muffin is not official business.
UPDATE: A Santa Monica police official now tells TMZ the parking enforcement officer was about to write the ticket when a man walked up to the officer and said he was a member of the CHP Dignitary Protection Unit. The CHP guy then said he understood the officer had a job to do but the dignitary would be gone in less than 5 minutes. At that point the parking enforcement officer backed off, but issued a warning.
As for Maria then getting in the SUV, eating a muffin and driving off without her seat belt, the parking official says his officer didn't see that.
We contacted the CHP -- they have no comment on the situation.
Filed under: Paparazzi Video, Politix, Exclusives, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Muffingate
Tags: above the law, AboveTheLaw, arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, maria shriver, MariaShriver, parking ticket, ParkingTicket, road rules, RoadRules, ticket
