Articles Posted in DUI

Last week, a Thousand Oaks woman was driving on the Highway 23 and 101 connector when she made an unsafe turn and crashed into the guardrail on a bridge. The woman was not wearing her seat belt so she was thrown around the vehicle and was seriously injured. When the ambulance arrived, she was not breathing and her heart had stopped. Emergency responders were able to revive her and she was rushed to the hospital. Investigators beleived that she was drunk at the time of the incident so she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Even though this woman nearly died, she will still be charged with the crime she committed. She nearly killed herself and likely learned a valuable lesson about drinking and driving. People that get DUI’s sometimes have drinking problems and it would be valuable for them to take alcohol education classes or go to rehab. With the economy the way it is, more people are drinking away their problems and that leads to DUI’s, DUI accidents and DUI fatalities. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Laguna Hills or Stanton, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Lake County is forming a new DUI program called the Lake County DUI Intensive Response Team. The purpose of the program is to prevent DUI accidents and prosecute DUI suspects. The program involves five different components. First, the program funds vertical prosecutors to handle felony and misdemeanor DUI’s from the beginning to the end. This would allow the prosecutor to become familiar with the case and have their own investigators to assist with the DUI cases. Second, it requires DUI offenders to take counseling and alcohol education classes to prevent multiple DUI’s. Third, the program provides a victim assistance program that assists the victim by explaining the court process to the victims and contacting them regarding any developments in their case. Fourth, the program would provide more probation officers to look after DUI offenders and make sure they are complying with the probation conditions. Lastly, the program provides education to the community, and especially the youth, on the dangers of drinking and driving.

This program sounds like it has all of the elements to be very successful and effective at reducing DUI offenses and fatalities. If successful, many other counties may model its multi-faceted approach. If you are charged with a first time DUI, you will likely have to pay court fines and get your license revoked for a few months. With this program, you would also be mandated to take alcohol education classes to prevent future DUI’s and have active probation officers ensuring compliance to all probation conditions.

Whether you live in Fullerton, Newport Beach or Lake Forest, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney right away to assist you.

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The Orange County Sheriff’s Department just received a three year, $874,852 grant for DUI prevention and enforcement. The grant will pay for DUI checkpoints, extra patrols, warrant searches and court stings (where officers follow people from court who have suspended licenses to see if they drive). The money will also be used to increase enforcement around big events like the O.C. Fair or sporting events. Additionally, money will be spent on extra officers around holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco De Mayo, to ensure that the roads are free of intoxicated drivers.

More DUI enforcement means more driving under the influence charges for the people of the county at first. After that, people will be aware that there are more cops around and that they are specifically targeting drunk drivers and people will be too scared to drive drunk. If you are celebrating an event and want to drink,arrange for a driver so that you do not have to worry about getting arrested. A DUI arrest will stay on your record and cost you quite a bit in fees. Whether you live in Westminster, Aliso Viejo or Stanton, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Joseph Anthony Phillips and Timothy O’Brian of Winchester, California were off-roading in Menifee on Wednesday of this week. These men had been drinking beers throughout the day and while off-roading and were not wearing seat belts. As they were driving on a dirt road, they picked up speed and the car lifted up over Leon Road and landed on an embankment on the other side of the road. Both men hit the dashboard and the windshield and were killed instantly.

The combination of alcohol, speeding and no seat belts often leads to death whether someone is driving on a paved road or not. It is very unfortunate that these men were killed while doing something that they likely thought was harmless and fun. Even while off-roading, a person may be charged with a DUI if they are driving while intoxicated. Whether you live in Laguna Hills, Santa Ana or Tustin, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Senator Leland Yee of San Mateo wants to pass a law that would revoke the license of a person who is convicted of more than a few driving under the influence charges. He says he is shocked that there is no upper limit to the amount of DUI’s a person can get and still get back their driver’s license. Right now, first time offenders lose their license for four months and a third time offender loses their license for three years. The more DUI’s a person gets, the longer they have to wait to get their license again. Besides losing your license, you also have to pay court fees, higher car insurance rates, attend alcohol education classes and go to jail. Even with all these penalties, the Senator still believes that we are letting DUI offenders off too easily.

The article mentions a DMV report that claims that the more DUI’s a person has, the more likely that person will be arrested again. After getting more than a few DUI’s, it is likely that you may have an alcohol problem and it is best to take alcohol education classes or go to rehab before you get into an accident that injures or kills someone. Whether you live in Laguna Hills, Westminster or Newport Beach, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Last Friday, Lake Elsinore City Councilman Thomas Buckley was pulled over by an officer who noticed that his front license plate was missing. After questioning Buckley about his license plate, the officer became suspicious that Buckley had been drinking. After issuing a Breathalyzer test, Buckley was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence. Prior to this incident, Buckley had been suspected of profiting from a land deal and was told he had to be up for a recall election in February. Most people think that this DUI will hurt his chances of being re-elected in the recall election. Buckley was apologetic and took full responsibility for the incident.

Often times, a DUI can ruin a person’s career. People who hold titles or high positions are often under strict scrutiny by the public because of the influence they have on the community. Hopefully, Buckley learned a valuable lesson and will not make this mistake again. If convicted, Buckley likely faces fees, alcohol classes and a restricted license. Whether you live in Newport Beach, Fullerton or Laguna Niguel, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Earlier this week, a drunk man got behind the wheel of his Volkswagen Golf in Vacaville, California. Officers noticed that he was driving 100 m.p.h. so as they ran his license plate, he started swerving in and out of his lane. The officer tried to pull him over but he crashed into 2 cars, pinning one against the wall. The drunk driver jumped out of his vehicle just before it caught on fire. Police detained him and after testing his blood alcohol content (BAC), results showed that he had a BAC of a .21%. The man was arrested on suspicion of DUI and taken to jail.

The blood alcohol content limit in California is a .08%. This means that if an officer pulls you over and your Breathalyzer results show that you have a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher, you will be arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Sentences range from license suspension to jail time. Possible defenses include malfunctioning Breathalyzer equipment and road conditions that caused the driver to drive recklessly. Whether you live in Orange, Brea or Laguna Niguel, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Francisco Romero Gutierrez, 19, was driving in Fillmore on Sunday night while intoxicated. He lost control of his vehicle and it crashed into a metal guardrail. Gutierrez sustained a broken neck, abrasions and bruising. His passengers Cesario Sandoval and Jose Luis Solorzano were also injured. All three men were taken to the hospital. Gutierrez was then arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

Since this was a holiday weekend, many people were driving drunk. Luckily, Gutierrez did not kill anyone. The passengers in his vehicle should have made sure that he was not going to drive. Now Gutierrez faces jail time, court fines, a revoked license, probation and alcohol classes. Whether you live in Irvine, Laguna Niguel or Villa Park, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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This weekend, a 17-year-old boy led police on a brief chase through Moorpark, that ended with two police cars being hit. An officer saw the boy run a red light so the she tried to stop the driver, but he sped off. The driver then swiped two police cars before speeding up on Highway 118, exceeding speeds of 85 m.p.h. After a few minutes, the boy lost control of the car and it flipped over a few times. The passenger of the vehicle was thrown out of the car and the driver was trapped inside the car. After being rescued, he was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, causing injury while fleeing from a piece officer and driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury.

It is likely that this boy was so intoxicated that he thought he should take his chances and flee versus get caught for driving under the influence while being underage. Unfortunately for this young boy, he will likely face jail time, have to take alcohol classes, have his license revoked and get probation. If a police officer ever wants to pull you over, do not flee. You will be caught and face even more charges and steeper penalties. Whether you live in Westminster, Anaheim Hills or Villa Park, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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William Scott Simon was arrested in January for drunk driving when he drove into a parking lot through the wrong entrance, parked crookedly and stumbled into a Starbucks. Police tested his blood alcohol level, which revealed a .22% blood alcohol content. Last week, a judge sentenced him to two years in prison for this January event. Alone, this DUI would rarely qualify a person for 2 years in prison. This incident, however, was followed by six other DUI’s spanning about 20 years.

Being charged with seven DUI’s in around 20 years indicates that Simon likely has an alcohol problem. Beside prison time, it is likely that the judge may have recommended that Simon go to rehab, attend alcohol education classes and have his license revoked. Luckily, Simon has not hurt or killed himself or others around him yet. Hopefully, prison time will make him realize the severity of his crimes.

Whether you live in Santa Ana, Yorba Linda or Irvine, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney right away to assist you.

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