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Teen avoids suit by apologizing, selling stereo

"This is exactly the sort of resolution I would have hoped for," says Judy Ellis, who agreed to drop the antinoise suit.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published December 1, 2004

ST. PETERSBURG - Ryan Jennings, the teen who was sued because of his loud car stereo, has beaten the rap by silencing his rap.

He has sold his powerful sound system and written an apology to the woman who said she was a victim of "audio terrorism."

In return, Judy Ellis, the Lakewood resident who sued him for rumbling his woofers in her neighborhood, has agreed to drop the suit.

She imposed several conditions that must be met by Jan. 31:

Jennings, 18, must reimburse her court costs.

He must appear at the Lakewood Estates Neighborhood Watch meeting on Jan. 18 to apologize for blasting his music and speeding through the community.

The Lakewood High School student must speak to the St. Petersburg Youth Council about the discourtesy and dangers of boom cars.

He must apologize to neighbors for using profanity and rude gestures when they tried to get him to slow down as he drove past their Lakewood Estates home.

Not only has he returned his stereo, he is also selling his Jeep. As his parents watched Monday, he handed Mrs. Ellis a letter of apology and agreed to her conditions.

"It's fair," he said afterward.

"This is exactly the sort of resolution I would have hoped for," said Mrs. Ellis, 63, who months earlier had confronted the teenager about his behavior and recently called his mother to complain.

Lakewood Estates Community Police Officer Richard Grimberg also had sent a letter to Jennings' parents - to whom the vehicle their son was driving was registered - asking that he "tone down" his stereo.

Sitting at a table in the Maximo Community Resource Center at Marina Village Shopping Plaza on Monday evening, the teenager said he thought Mrs. Ellis had overreacted.

"But it's all right. We're working on it," he said, appearing embarrassed and admitting that he's taken a lot of ribbing from friends and even teachers because of the publicity.

In the one-page letter to Mrs. Ellis, he wrote, "A lot of times, I don't think of the consequences before I say and do things."

In the letter, he said he was sorry that his stereo system, "especially the bass," was so annoying.

"I had no idea it was creating such a problem. When you are inside the car, it doesn't seem so loud. . . . My parents are not responsible for my choosing the system or playing it the way I did," he wrote.

"I worked all summer to pay for this system. I agreed with my mom and dad to sell the system."

At this week's meeting, his father, Douglas Jennings, said his son started removing the stereo at dawn the morning after being notified of Mrs. Ellis' suit.

"I think he realizes the effect that he has on everybody," he said.

The teen said it was "pretty cool" that his parents had accompanied him to the meeting, but added that he believed he could have handled the matter on his own.

"I'm pretty good at resolving things myself," he said.

The suit was filed on Nov. 16. Mrs. Ellis, who says she suffers from vibroacoustic disease, stated that the teen caused her pain and suffering and robbed her of her right to peaceful enjoyment of her home.

The suit also said she suffered from the low-frequency vibrations of his music and that the noise had interrupted her "thought processes," increased her blood pressure and caused pain near her heart. It stated that another Lakewood Estates resident had been reluctant to come forward because of documented cases of people being attacked for criticizing "audioterrorists."

Her action was not an overkill, said Mrs. Ellis, a member of Lakewood Estates' neighborhood crime patrol.

"The message I want to send out there is noise can be very harmful. Had this not been illegal, I would have had no recourse, but it is against the law. I want people to understand, if they are going to do this, if they are going to flout this law, there are going to be consequences," the retired legal assistant said.

She has teamed up with antinoise people around the country to fight what she refers to as an epidemic of blasting, throbbing boom cars, annoying leaf blowers, weed-whackers and low-flying airplanes.

Some who support her cause feel she is selling out by settling with the teen, Mrs. Ellis said.

"I didn't want to nail him to the barn door. This is not an irredeemable kid."

[Last modified December 1, 2004, 00:33:20]