Lake Forest Park judge limits 115-photo-ticket debt to $5,000 with community-service requirement

Judge Jennifer Grant on July 28 reduced the city’s financial claims arising from 115 photo-enforcement citations issued to a single vehicle owner, ordering a combined financial and community-service resolution that the court said would allow the owner to clear a registration hold.

The owner, identified in court as Gautam Aragay, appeared with an Amharic interpreter. Grant said the cases dated from May 2024 through January 2025 and included multiple photo-enforced speeding and red-light violations. The judge said the total penalties, without reduction, exceeded $16,000.

“I'm going to draft an order that will incorporate all of your cases and sets out the court's expectation,” Judge Grant said, describing the terms she would impose.

Under the written order the court will prepare, Grant said she would impose a $5,000 obligation and convert $2,500 of that amount into community service credit equal to 125 hours. The court set the community-service pace at a minimum of 10 hours per month (with credit for additional hours) and required monthly documentation. The remaining $2,500 remains a monetary obligation to be paid over time; the court directed monthly payments of $50. The first monthly proof-of-service deadline and payment reporting date is Sept. 20, 2025. The court told Aragay that once an initial installment is paid the court will lift the Department of Licensing hold that has prevented registration renewal.

Grant told Aragay the court could waive late fees, remove cases from collection and dismiss a number of tickets as part of the agreement, but cautioned that more serious violations — including higher-speed incidents and red-light runs — had weighed in the court's approach. “This is an extraordinary number of violations that you're facing,” she said, noting public-safety concerns tied to higher speeds in some photographs.

Aragay told the court he supports his family, works night shifts and that the aggregate debt was beyond his capacity; he accepted the court’s reduction and terms, including community service at local nonprofit organizations or faith-based groups. The judge instructed the clerk to prepare paperwork and to translate and send the order and supporting documents to Aragay.

The court recorded that it formally read 25 of the 115 case numbers into the record during the hearing and that the written order will enumerate the full set of cases covered by the agreement. The court also said it would lift the Department of Licensing hold upon receipt of the first payment and the deferred-finding filing or installment as applicable.

Court staff said they will provide forms for documenting volunteer hours, and the judge warned that failure to comply with the payment or community-service schedule could result in reconversion of service hours to financial obligations and potential referral to collections.

The judge recessed the hearing after instructing the clerk to bring the agreement paperwork to Aragay in the lobby so he could sign and begin compliance steps.