Jim Skinner, the Golden Beach police chief who once led Coral Gables PD, received a traffic ticket -- from a Gables motorcycle cop. Officer Alex Castello nailed Skinner on Sept. 16 for making an illegal left at Riviera and Jeronimo drives.

Skinner, 61, who lives in Coral Gables with his wife, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Korvick, 63, was headed home from a morning gym workout. He was driving a rental car -- their car was in the shop. He says he simply forgot about the no left turn. ``I was clearly violating the law,'' Skinner says. ``I was just totally not thinking.''

The motorman was professional and courteous, Skinner adds. ``I have no complaint. That's what traffic enforcement is all about.''

Skinner sent in a plea-by-mail of no contest. He elected traffic school -- a four-hour online class -- to avoid points on his record.

He also mailed in the fine. But he sent the wrong amount -- $171, $15 shy of the $186 penalty. The balance is due Nov. 5.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@