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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
“I’m not driving tonight, there are too many drunks on the road”, is a comment I hear every New Year’s Eve. Yet the worst time to drive is actually the Saturday before Christmas, when office parties and family and friend parties usually mean drinking plus driving in much greater numbers, statistically.
People are more likely to get a hotel and spend the night somewhere for New Year’s Eve, and that’s what you should do if you want to avoid being potentially interrogated or arrested for DUI.
Unlike the 17 Orange County checkpoints the weekend before Christmas, (that I have discussed at length in my blog) there is only one tonight that I am aware of – the DUI checkpoint in Placentia. You can be sure that police will be having roving patrols, and if you know anyone that has an Orange County DUI case, please have them contact me at 714-568-1560. I can offer information and help out.
Otherwise, I thank you for visiting my blog in now its third year, and two redesigns. It’s been a pleasure to offer opinion and facts from the front line of DUI defense in Orange County. I wish you all the best for 2009, and if you have any suggestions for my blog, or just want to contact me anytime, please email me at rmillerlaw at gmail dot com. Thanks, and Happy New Year!
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Holiday DUI Arrests Down 44 Percent From Last Year
Four traffic deaths were reported over the first 60 hours of the
holiday period in Los Angeles County and arrests for drunk driving
made by CHP officers were down about 44 percent from last year’s
total.
Emelio Ramirez, 25, of Oxnard, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run
driver Christmas Eve while walking in the right-most lane of the San
Diego (405) Freeway just south of the Marina (90) Freeway.
Sheryl Thacker, 38, and Carmela Rodriguez, 64, both of San Pedro, died
Christmas Day when a van they were in crashed and rolled over on the
Harbor (110) Freeway near Pacific Coast Highway.
Information on the fourth traffic fatality, which was not handled by
the CHP, was not immediately available.
Only one traffic fatality was reported during the similar time period in 2008.
Statewide, there were 16 traffic deaths this year as compared with 18 in 2007.
Local CHP officers made 158 DUI arrests between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6
a.m. Saturday, compared to 282 arrests in the similar period last
year, CHP
Officer Anthony Martin said.
Drunk driving arrests are down by more than a third across the state
– from 1,303 at this point in 2007 to 824 this year, Martin said.
Arrests for drunk driving by California Highway Patrol officers in
Orange County over the first sixty hours of the holiday period were
down about 20 percent from last year’s total, it was reported
Saturday.
Local CHP officers made 42 DUI arrests between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6
a.m. Saturday, compared to 53 arrests in the similar period last year,
CHP Officer Rob Sanchez said.
Drunk driving arrests are down by more than a third across the state
– from 1,303 at this point in 2007 to 824 this year, Sanchez said.
A teenager died Saturday in the only reported traffic death in Orange
County during the period. The 19-year-old passenger, who was not yet
identified, was in a crash involving two allegedly drunk drivers, one
of whom was driving the wrong way on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway.
One fatality was also reported in Orange County during the similar
period in 2007.
Statewide 16 traffic deaths were reported as compared to 18 in 2007.
CHP-reported DUI statistics concern only the arrests made by CHP
officers, while the fatality totals cover all law enforcement
jurisdictions in California, as reports are filed with the state.
((c) 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Police: Mom drove with kids, beer
A mother of two was arrested for drunken driving after she was caught driving with an open bottle of beer in her lap and her two kids sleeping in the back seat at a random DUI checkpoint over the weekend. LONG BEACH — A mother of two was arrested for drunken driving after she was caught driving with an open bottle of beer in her lap and her two kids sleeping in the back seat at a random DUI checkpoint over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday.
Joyce Lopez, 21, of Huntington Beach was arrested for drunken driving after her blood alcohol level registered more than double the .08 legal limit, said Sgt. Tom Marcoux of the Long Beach Police Department‘s Patrol Division.
“As soon as the officer saw her he noticed the kids in the back, he noticed the strong odor of alcohol, he noticed the bottle of beer in her lap and he (thought) `Oh my God,’ ” Marcoux said Tuesday.
While Lopez was booked on a DUI charge at about 9:47 p.m. Saturday, her two children — who appeared to be 1 and 7 years old — were taken into protective custody by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the sergeant said.
“Who knows, maybe (having her children taken by county authorities) will turn her around,” Marcoux said. “It’s lucky for those kids that we got them out of that car before anything really bad happened.”
Lopez pleaded no contest at the Long Beach Superior Court Monday to all the misdemeanor counts filed against her — including driving under the influence, driving under the influence with a minor in the vehicle and child endangerment — City Prosecutor Tom Reeves said Tuesday.
Reeves said Lopez was placed on three years’ probation and fined more than $400 after she entered her no contest plea — considered the same as a guilty plea by criminal courts. Lopez was also given credit for two days served in jail and released from custody Monday, Reeves said.
Marcoux said Lopez was chosen at random to be screened in a DUI checkpoint conducted by the LBPD Saturday night at Pacific Coast Highway and Loynes Drive from 6 p.m. Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday.
During the eight-hour operation, more than 2,000 vehicles passed through the checkpoint and more than 600 were screened. Of the vehicles screened, four drivers were arrested for driving under the influence — including Lopez — and 18 drivers were issued traffic citations for various offenses, Marcoux said.
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Costa Mesa police will be checking for drunk drivers starting at 6 tonight on Pomona Avenue.
The checkpoint will be set up eastbound on 19th Street at Pomona. So far this year, 600 drivers who were considered impaired have been arrested, according to police.
The police press release about the DUI checkpoint had a statement that police use the checkpoints to educate the public about the dangers of drunk driving and driving without a valid driver’s license.
If you have been arrested at a DUI checkpoint, or have questions about a Costa Mesa DUI, contact a Costa Mesa DUI attorney at (714) 568-1560.
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Lane Garrison has been sued for wrongful death and negligence stemming from a CA DUI crash in 2006. Garrison was driving at the time of a one vehicle accident that killed his pasenger, Vahagn Setian. He entered a guilty plea to felony vehicular manslaughter last October and was sentenced to 40 months in prison. The parents of Setian have filed suit saying Garrison “carried on with a conscious and willful disregard of the rights and safety of others”.
Garrison reportedly had been drinking at a party on December 2, 2006. He met Setian, 17, and two high-school age women as he went to purchase more alcohol at a Beverly Hills liquor store. On the way back to the party, Garrison ran a red light, jumped a curb and crashed into a tree. His vehicle ended up on its side, causing blunt force trauma to Setian. Garrison’s blood alcohol content at the time was reportedly 0.15%, nearly twice the legal limit for intoxication. He was booked on charges of driving under the influence in LA.
Setian’s parents are seeking an undisclosed amount for medical expenses, burial and funeral expenses, legal fees and punitive damages. One of the female passengers has also filed a negligence suit against Garrison.
Garrison had been undergoing alcohol abuse treatment while in prison. He was transferred from Cochoran State Prison to a medium-security in Tehachapi, however, and the new facility does not have treatment services because of budget cut-backs.
Garrison appeared in the television series ‘Prison Break‘.
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
The Orange County Register had an article from Friday, December 19, 2008, about the increased checkpoint and DUI patrol activity this year in Orange County:
Authorities in Orange County and across the state will be showing up in force throughout the holiday season, authorities said, in an effort to curb DUI drivers and reduce the number of people injured in alcohol-related crashes.
To assist local agencies in tackling drunken drivers during the holiday season, the state’s Office of Traffic Safety has also awarded more than $5.2 million in grants to 111 local agencies throughout the state to conduct sobriety checkpoints, including eight grants that were given to Orange County law enforcement agencies. The money will help pay for the administrative costs and other expenses associated with such enforcement tools.
“Everybody is putting a lot more enforcement out there during this three week period,” said Chris Cochran, spokesman for the Office of Traffic Safety.
The numerous checkpoints throughout the state serve not just as a means to net drunk drivers, but as a deterrent to those who see the checkpoints, authorities said.
“People drive by them so they are reminded to have a designated driver,” Cochran said.
The eight cities to receive the grants include Fountain Valley, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Placentia, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Tustin, for a combined total of more than $165,000.
“Checkpoints are our No. 1 public awareness tool,” Cochran said.
In addition to the checkpoints, law enforcement agencies said they also plan on conducting saturation patrols, were additional officers are sent out on patrol specifically to spot drunk drivers. Many of those efforts are not funded through the grants.
Beginning at 7 p.m. today, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a checkpoint in Aliso Viejo. In Huntington Beach, police will be setting up another checkpoint at 9 p.m. at Beach Boulevard and Baylock.
Another checkpoint is scheduled in San Clemente Saturday. One was completed in Irvine Thursday night.
The end of the year holiday season is one of the busiest for law enforcement when it comes to intoxicated drivers, Cochran said. It is also when agencies step up their enforcement, he said.
After this week’s checkpoints, deputies with the sheriff‘s department will be conducting saturation patrols in cities that contract with the department, said Sgt. Jerry Brittain, who heads the department’s traffic and auto-theft division.
Although state funding for grants is expected to be lowered for other types of enforcement, such as red light, seat-belt and speeding violations, grants for DUI enforcement are expected to continue, Cochran said.
“A lot of that is going to be tightened down,” Brittain said. “This is one of those campaigns we have to keep going.”
Federal funding will contribute to the grants provided by the OTS, Cochran said.
According to the Office of Traffic Safety, 1,616 people were killed in California in alcohol related crashes in 2007, a decrease of 8 percent from the previous year. During the same year, 30,642 people were injured.
A total of 203,866 people were arrested statewide for driving under the influence.
The grants provided by the OTS will also help fund DUI enforcement for other holiday periods as well, Cochran said, such as St. Patrick’s Day, Superbowl Sunday and the Fourth of July.
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
From out of town, a DUI checkpoint in the small town of Coachella was conducted starting on December 19, 2008. The Desert Sun reports as follows:
DUI checkpoint snags 6 arrests, other charges for 48 drivers
The Desert Sun
Six people were arrested during a DUI checkpoint on Grapefruit Boulevard at Avenue 49 in Coachella between 7 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
They are:
Richard Guitierrez, 23, of Coachella, on suspicion of drunken driving.
Robert Packard, 19, of Anaheim, on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia and felony probation violation.
Michael Goodbeam, 32, of Fontana, on suspicion of a felony property warrant out of Orange County.
Edward Rodriguez, 42, of Palm Desert, on suspicion of felony drug possession, possession of dangerous weapons, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
Francisco Romero, 30, of Coachella, on suspicion of being wanted for being a parole at large.
Jose Luis Ortiz, 46, of Coachella, on suspicion of drunken driving.
The checkpoint also cited 48 drivers on suspicion of various other charges, and 12 vehicles were towed.
Stefanie Frith
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
I was able to directly observe the Garden Grove and Huntington Beach DUI checkpoints over the weekend. Another attorney went through the Aliso Viejo DUI checkpoint and had the following report:
“…As I pull up, the sign reads “Sobriety, DL checkpoint ahead.” OK, they are checking us for CDLs (California Driver’s License) now. As I pull up, there is a single lane marked by a temporary stop sign and manned by 4 of OCSDs (Orange County Sheriff’s Department) finest. The officer tells me to roll down the window. I do. She announces that they are running a sobriety checkpoint and checking for driver’s licenses. She then asks me where i am coming from. I tell her that is none of her business. I then ask her on what authority is she pulling over every car to check licenses. Blank stare. She repeats that this is a sobriety checkpoint and a driver’s license checkpoint. I tell her I heard her the first time and, again, on what authority is she checking every car’s license? She asks me if I have been drinking. I tell her I am not going to answer that. She orders me out of the car.
Now, I had the chance to watch what they were doing. Every car gets pulled and checked for a license. some cars then move off to the right to go through “secondary screening.” She claimed, when I pressed her, that it was every 5th car. It was not. In fact, I asked her why I was being pulled out of my car when I clearly was not the 5th car (the car 2 in front of me was just made to do the same thing). She did not answer.
OK, so she orders me out and I ask why (now I am probably flirting with a 148, (PC 148 is resisting arrest or interfering with the lawful duties of an officer), but I was dying to challenge “lawful duty”). She repeats, in command tone, get out of the car. Not wanting to post bail, I do.
As I get out, another officer jumps in my car (!) and pulls it away. I announce: “he does not have my permission to be in my car!” I am ignored.
She directs me to the sidewalk while asking me questions. I repeatedly tell her that I am not submitting to any FSTs and I will not answer her questions. If I committed an infraction, she can cite me and I will be on my way. If she feels she has probable cause for a DUI arrest, have at it. She ignores me and commands me to sit on her bumper. I do.
HGN. She breaks out the pen and, at lightning speed, starts moving it horizontally, passing my face 7-8 times. Stymied, she starts the vertical nystagmus. My defense was too great (and the fact that I just happened not to have consumed an alcoholic beverage in the last 2 weeks and I don’t use drugs) and I foiled her again. Not one to give up however, she starts–I am not BSing you—waiving the pen around in a circular fashion around and around my face. I thought she was going to poke me in the eye. Pissed, I announce that this will not establish any kind of Nystagmus and I am finished with this nonsense. Realizing that she has just been outflanked, she takes my CDL to her car and runs it. No warrants!
She approaches me again, hands my CDL back and sternly advises me that this unpleasantness could all have been avoided if I had just cooperated with her. I advised her that she was not correct, it could have been avoided if she had cooperated with the Constitution. ”
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Tonight there are major checkpoints in the following cities, as reported here on OCduiBlog.com:
Tustin: From 7pm to 3am;
Aliso Viejo DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Brea DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Newport Beach DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Orange DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
La Habra DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Huntington Beach DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
And, out of town, there’s a DUI checkpoint in Chino, and several planned for Los Angeles County tonight.
Tomorrow, December 20, 2008, there are DUI checkpoints in the following cities:
Anaheim DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
San Juan Capistrano DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Placentia DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Cypress DUI Checkpoint, from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
La Habra DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Brea DUI Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
In addition, the more effective DUI Task Forces will be out in Westminster and Garden Grove on December 20, 2008.
Remember to always drive safe. If you are arrested for DUI and need an Orange County DUI Lawyer, you have options. Call me, toll free, at 877-568-2977.
Tags
Christmas, Driving under the influence, Family, holiday, New Year, New Years Eve, police, United States
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