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FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A man who videotaped a bare-bottomed buddy during a motorcycle stunt that turned deadly was convicted of two misdemeanors and fined $1,000.
District Judge Frederick Bower said the September accident might never have happened if 23-year-old Ben Meacham had not been taping his almost-naked friend from a van he was driving alongside the motorcycle.
"Filming was a major part of their plan," said the judge.
Shaun Paul Matlock, 21, was wearing only tennis shoes, a T-shirt and a helmet when he lost control during a wheelie and crashed into a parked tow truck on a rural road south of Frederick, witnesses said.
According to testimony at Meacham's trial, Matlock wanted to do something unusual on what he called his last ride before he had to surrender the motorcycle because he had fallen behind on his payments.
Meacham declined an offer to join the ride but agreed to tape it. He was convicted of reckless driving and negligent driving.
A third friend, Brandon Edwards, who rode a motorcycle alongside Matlock and was similarly attired, was fined $1,000 in November after pleading guilty to indecent exposure and negligent driving.
The tape was later destroyed; it was unclear who destroyed it.
Meacham, who owns a production company called Holding It Big, testified that the stunt was being filmed for Matlock's own use.
According to its Web site, the Baltimore-based company puts on extreme sports exhibition shows and events, produces movies and video documentaries and conducts photo and video shoots for magazines.
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