Lake Forest Park judge reduces fines, grants deferred findings and enters defaults in Jan. 22 infraction calendar

Judge Jennifer Grant presided over the Lake Forest Park Municipal Court remote infraction calendar on Jan. 22, 2025, and resolved a series of traffic and parking cases by reducing penalties, dismissing some charges, granting deferred findings and entering default judgments for absent defendants.

The calendar matters involved speeding in school zones and school walk zones, expired registration and no-insurance citations, a sidewalk parking citation, and two failures to appear. The outcomes included monetary penalties, payment plans, deferred-finding agreements that keep infractions off a driving record if conditions are met, and default findings where defendants did not appear.

The bulk of discussion focused on several camera and officer-issued speeding citations. In the first matter, the court addressed five infractions tied to an Alpha Omega Electric van driven by Zachary Stockwell. Grant said she would dismiss two citations from Nov. 11 (cases ending in 402 and 295), reduce one school-zone penalty from $290 to $175 and impose reduced penalties on the remaining charges, resulting in a total financial obligation the judge identified as $545. Grant told Stockwell he could make time payments and the court agreed to a $50-per-month option. Stockwell told the court he had been working in the area for about six days and “felt a little blindsided” after receiving multiple mailed notices; he also said he had not reviewed the videos. Grant emphasized the presence of children on the roadway in video footage and warned Stockwell to watch for flashing school beacons and signage when returning to Lake Forest Park.

Other mitigation outcomes included:

- Sarita Darbo: cited for registration more than two months expired; Grant reduced the penalty to $175 and instructed Darbo the court would mail updated notice with the obligation and payment options.

- Stacy Lutz: charged with multiple…