---
title: "California Man Arrested For Leaving His Car Idling in Parking Lot"
description: "With its scenic coastline and gorgeous canyon roads, California has a well-deserved reputation as a driver's paradise. But there are a lot of downsides to life in the Golden State—like the fact that walking away from your idling car is enough to get you arrested, as one man in Sacramento found out on Friday."
date: "2018-05-09"
modified: "2018-05-09"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/20726/california-man-arrested-for-leaving-his-car-idling-in-parking-lot"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Arrest"
  - "California"
  - "idling"
  - "Laws"
  - "police"
---

# California Man Arrested For Leaving His Car Idling in Parking Lot

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/05/arrest-idle.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

With its scenic coastline and [gorgeous canyon roads,](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/13627/the-5-best-driving-roads-in-malibu>) California has a well-deserved reputation as a driver's paradise. But there are a lot of downsides to life in the Golden State—like the fact that walking away from your idling car is enough to get you arrested, as one man in Sacramento found out on Friday.

[According to *CBS 13*,](<https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/05/07/an-idle-threat/>) Craig Williams pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in the capital city on Friday morning and left his engine running when he went inside. A Sacramento police officer passing by [noticed his car idling](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17269/report-letting-your-car-warm-up-in-the-cold-could-be-illegal-in-your-state>) and tried to write him a ticket as he came back outside; when Williams refused to cooperate, the officer took him into custody for resisting arrest.

Video of the altercation recorded by Williams' girlfriend shows the officer attempting to handcuff him on the curb outside the 7-Eleven as Williams is heard shouting that he didn't do anything wrong. As he continues to struggle, the officer eventually takes him to the ground.

https://youtube.com/embed/jKFIf9eryiM

California's [long-standing idling law](<https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?division=11.&chapter=9.&lawCode=VEH>) states that it's illegal to walk away from an stopped car with its engine running on a public road, and that refusing to cooperate with the ticketing officer is an arrestable offense. However, an attorney [contacted by *CBS 13*](<https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/05/07/an-idle-threat/>) pointed out that the law is much less clear when it comes to private parking lots.

For its part, the Sacramento Police Department said that while Williams had violated several laws, the arrest itself was still under investigation. The officer's body camera footage is also being analyzed. It just goes to show: Even paradise [has a few dark clouds](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/15065/deputys-dash-cam-video-from-the-california-wildfires-is-like-riding-through-hell>), and probably a few confusing rules to boot.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)