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Our Long Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that Long Beach Fire Department Capt. John David Hines pleaded guilty this morning to a DUI and hit-and-run felony case that severely injured a bicyclist, officials said.

Hines, 38, faces a sentence ranging from probation to six years and eight months in prison. He’ll return to court Dec. 2, after undergoing a 90-day diagnostic evaluation in state prison to “determine his suitability for state prison,” according to a press release from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

As part of a court-offered deal, Hines pleaded guilty to one felony count each of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more causing injury, hit and run with injury, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for causing great bodily injury and having a blood alcohol level over 0.20 percent.

According to prosecutors, Hines spent the morning of April 1 boozing it up at a Long Beach restaurant called Schooner or Later, then drove his truck east along Westminster Avenue in Seal Beach, where he swerved off the road and crashed into 47-year-old bicyclist Jeffrey Gordon.

Gordon was thrown more than 70 feet and landed on the shoulder of the street, according to prosecutors. The impact of the high-speed collision broke the windshield and nearly disabled Hines’ Chevy Silverado, according to witnesses who chased him, honking and screaming at him to pull over, as he drove several blocks from the crash scene to his house in Huntington Beach.

When police from Seal Beach and Huntington Beach arrived at his home, Hines reeked of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and the odor of urine wafted from his clothing, authorities said. The front end of his truck was spattered with blood.

His blood-alcohol level at the time was .24, three times the legal limit, authorities said. After he was booked, Hines was released on $50,000 bail and reportedly checked himself into alcohol rehab.

Gordon spent two weeks in the hospital with head trauma, severe lacerations and bruising to his head and body, internal injuries and spinal and vertebrae injuries. He continues to suffer limited physical mobility and speech and memory loss, prosecutors said.

Related articles

• Rottman pleads not guilty to DUI (hollywood.com)
• Santa Ana man charged in crash that killed nephew (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

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Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned directly from the Traffic Division of the Newport Beach Police Department that they will be conducting a sobriety/driver’s license checkpoint on Friday, August 12, 2011. The location of the checkpoint will be northbound Dover Drive at 16th Street. The approximate hours of operation will be from 9:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m.

The checkpoint location was selected based upon its proximity to bars and restaurants and provides a high degree of visibility to the motoring public. Site determination was also based upon roadway configuration, sight distances, traffic volume, lighting, and motorist safety. A primary consideration was also officer safety.

The checkpoint will be clearly marked and vehicles will be selected to move through the check lanes on a pre-set basis to ensure objectivity and timeliness, according to the police agency.

Checkpoints do not necessarily produce dramatic increases in arrests, as we have reported previously.

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On July 2^nd, 2011, the Irvine Police Department conducted a sobriety/driver’s license checkpoint between the hours of 9:00 P.M.  and 2:00 A.M.  The checkpoint took place on Culver Drive at Farwell in the City of Irvine.

The checkpoint was clearly marked and vehicles were checked on a pre-set basis to ensure objectivity.  Motorists were given an informational brochure on impaired driving.  Driver’s licenses were checked, and trained officers evaluated possibly impaired drivers.

This checkpoint was staffed by sworn officers, and professional staff from the Irvine Police Department, as well as by community volunteers from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).  If you have questions for a Newport Beach DUI Lawyer, contact me at (877) 568-2977.

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AB 1389 intended to curb DUI Checkpoints

As more grief counselors were dispatched to Northwood High School in Irvine to help students cope with the loss of a 14-year-old to a driver charged with DUI, word comes that an Orange County state legislator crossed party lines to support a Democrat’s bill to regulate sobriety checkpoints.

Assemblyman Chris Norby (R-Fullerton) says he voted for AB1389 because checkpoints are “fishing expeditions” for unlicensed drivers.

Norby also complained that cities often make money from the operations by impounding vehicles that often belong to illegal immigrants who can’t get licenses and end up stranded.

The legislation introduced by Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa) passed 51-19 on Friday. If it is ultimately signed by the governor, it would confine checkpoints to streets where drunken driving is a problem.  If you have any questions for our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers, call us, toll free, at (877) 568-2977, anytime.

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The lights are flashing, the officer comes over to your car, and you think about those two drinks you had.  If you even think you might have alcohol, and are stopped or arrested for DUI, the right thing to say isn’t “Officer, can you hold my beer?”, but instead follow these six things you should NEVER do.

1. Be Zen, and Don’t Admit anything.

Should you quickly pop mints, Listerine strips, gum, or even reach below the seat for that flask that you’ve kept concealed for just this situation (so that the police can not demonstrate when the alcohol was consumed)? Reaching all around frantically in your vehicle for anything at all, (specially something shiny and metal) as the officer approaches your automobile is a excellent way to increase your odds of getting shot. Roll down all your windows, (this also airs out the automobile), flip on your interior lights, put your hands at the “10 and 2″ position, high on the steering wheel, and don’t get out of the automobile.

Now is also not the time to go into particulars about nearly anything. Despite the fact that it’s hard, a refusal to respond to questions is legal.  More than that, it’s smart, as your answers can’t be used against you, underneath the US Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. So do what any judge or attorney would advise you to do – politely refuse to response any issues, and inform the police that a Newport Beach DUI lawyer (me) advised you not to respond any questions .

2. Politely refuse the Field Sobriety Exams (FSTs).

In California, the FSTs are optional, and voluntary. They are intended to give the police proof to assist a determination of probable cause that you had been under the influence, and can be refused without any consequence. Area sobriety assessments include the walk and turn examination, horizontal gaze nystagmus (watching a pen, flashlight, finger with your eyes), the one leg stand, and even a PAS (preliminary alcohol screening device) test.

Even so, make positive that you know that under California law, there are consequences for refusing an evidentiary test, which is different than a PAS test.  So, the smart thing to do is to politely refuse the field test, politely request a breath or blood test at the station, which offers you much more time to burn off off alcohol.

3. Do not, ever, at any time, miss your court date.

Do not ever before miss your court date, ever, ever, period.  It can lead to additional costs, and a warrant for your arrest, and just makes you look irresponsible to the court.

4. Don’t miss the DMV deadline.

The DMV has a sneaky 10 day deadline to request a hearing, or lose your license, and it’s buried in the fine print of your license.  They are very strict about this requirement, so don’t miss it.

5.  Don’t assume you can’t fight a DUI case, or that it’s helpless.

Make certain you go over ALL defenses in your case, during a free consultation with a DUI Specialist, to see if, and how, your DUI matter can be dismissed, or reduced to a charge that can end up saving countless dollars in fines and fees, and keep you from a criminal record, or points on your driving record. There are a lot of defenses to DUI cases, which include defenses specific to breath testing or blood testing.  The time to explore your defenses is now, not a year later, when you see how much pleading guilty in your DUI case hurt you.

6. Don’t Defend Your self

You may possibly be contemplating defending yourself in court, but that is definitely not a good idea. You’ve heard the saying that a man who defends himself has a fool for a client, and, well… it’s true.  It really is significantly better to have an attorney who is familiar with the law, and skilled with the court exactly where your case is in. Trying to tackle something as complex as DUI by your self is a bad, bad move.

If your circumstance is in Orange County, you really should strongly consult with one of the very best Orange County DUI Lawyers in the location, and get guidance from a DUI Specialist Orange County, to conserve your license and remain out of jail.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that seventy vehicles were impounded and 31 people were arrested at San Diego DUI checkpoints in Vista and Pacific Beach recently, according to a news report.

San Diego Sheriff’s deputies and San Diego police processed almost 1,800 vehicles through the two DUI checkpoints.  At the Vista DUI checkpoint, deputies arrested seven drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, issued 47 citations for a number of violations and seized 41 vehicles.

At the Pacific Beach DUI checkpoint, police arrested 25 drivers for DUI; one driver was also arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance and another driver was arrested for being drunk in public.  Police impounded a total of 29 vehicles.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that the Irvine Police Department will be holding a sobriety checkpoint tonight at the intersection of Campus Drive and Bridge Road.

That’s at the center of where UC Irvine, University Town Center, the Mesa Court apartments and thousands of young adults meet, which is precisely why cops picked the spot.

“In 2009, drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 were responsible for 34% of fatal crashes with blood alcohol content (BAC) levels of .08 or higher (the same as 2008 and up from 31% in 2007),” reads an IPD statement.  Be safe out there.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that the Orange County “Avoid the 38” DUI Task Force will be deploying overtime patrols in the following cities: Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra Laguna Beach, La Palma, Placentia, Santa Ana and Westminster, as well as the Sheriff’s Department’s Contract Cities.  The Cal State University of Fullerton Police will also have patrols out.  These patrols
will be looking for the signs of a drunk driver to stop, test and arrest those who have had too much alcohol.

If you have questions for a DUI specialist Orange County, call us at (877) 568-2977, anytime.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint in the City of Stanton on Friday, April 29, 2011, from 6:00 p.m. until 2:00
a.m.  The location has not been announced.

Police conducting sobriety checkpoints must follow strict criteria laid out by the California Supreme Court in the landmark case Ingersoll vs. Palmer. If police do not follow the protocol described in Ingersoll, the checkpoint is not lawful, and any evidence gathered during a drunk driving arrest may not be admissible in court.

If you need the assistance of our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers, or our Orange County DUI lawyers, call us, toll free, at (877) 568-2977, anytime.  We are here to help you.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that the Costa Mesa Police Department, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol conducted a  DUI/Drivers  License  Checkpoint  on  Saturday,  April  9,  2011, and resulted in a 0.0028% success rate.

This checkpoint was one of many that have been or will be conducted throughout the year in Costa Mesa.  The location of Saturday’s checkpoint was on Newport Boulevard at 17 th  Street.

2,127  Vehicles through the checkpoint
611     Vehicles Screened
9         Drivers given field sobriety tests
6         DUI suspects arrested
12       Driver’s license investigations
13       Citations issued
11       Vehicles towed

The checkpoint was funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  If you have any questions for an Orange County DUI Specialist, contact our firm at (877) 568-2977.