State v. Latraverse

Undercover detective Salvatore Lombardi bought four stolen cars from Paul Latraverse (defendant), who was arrested and released on bail pending a grand jury proceeding at which Lombardi was to testify. Late one night, Lombardi heard a loud-mufflered car stop near his home bearing a license plate from Latraverse's dealership; when police backup approached, the car made a U-turn and fled, and officers pursued and searched it, finding gasoline, a rag, matches, a baseball bat, a tool for prying open car doors, and a threatening note addressed to Lombardi. Latraverse was charged with attempting to dissuade a police officer from testifying before a grand jury; he moved for acquittal, arguing he had abandoned his plan, but the trial judge ruled the abandonment defense unavailable and convicted him.