The adult son of an Israeli diplomat has accepted a plea deal and avoided jail time after being accused of purposefully running over a Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, police officer on his motorcycle.
Avraham Gil, 19, hit a police lieutenant who was conducting a traffic stop in January, and his lawyer claimed that he was protected under “diplomatic immunity.”
Avraham is the son of Eli Gil, a diplomat at the Israeli consulate in Miami.
Last Wednesday, it was announced that Gil had completed the plea deal terms and would be going to Israel that evening to serve in the Israeli military.
The sweetheart deal included a $500 donation to a hospital, 100 hours of community service, and traffic school.
The Miami Herald reports:
Late last month, after writing a letter to injured Sunny Isles Beach Police Officer Ruben Zamora that was filled with apologies and lessons learned, Avraham Gil told the court that after his “significant wake-up call,” he’d decided to actively serve in Israel’s military.
The state then agreed to an unusually lean punishment — no prison time if Gil attended traffic school, completed 100 hours of community service, agreed not to drive and donated $500 to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Expand article logo Continue reading
After learning he’d completed the requirements Wednesday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Teresa Pooler sent Gil on his way. His attorney Stephen Millan told the judge the family’s visa was set to expire by the end of the month and that they were heading back to Israel after the hearing.
Gil was crying and red-eyed in his mug shot and had originally been charged with two felonies.
The Tribune report added:
It also turned out Gil’s late January confrontation with the Sunny Isles police officer wasn’t his first brush with the law. A month earlier on New Year’s Eve, he was stopped by a Miami Shores police officer, also for allegedly speeding and careening in-and-out of traffic.
The officer said Gil had a cover over his diplomatic license plate that read “PLS CHASE.” The officer eventually let him go after learning of the teen’s father’s job with the Israeli consulate general’s office in Miami. Earlier, Miami Police said they also spotted Gil dangerously racing down Biscayne Boulevard. But they gave up the chase as a precaution.
