National DUI Report for the week ending Oct. 10, 2009
The worst of the nation’s DUI cases for the week. Our continued commitment to demonstrate the constant trail of blood on our highways due to drinking and driving. This week is a sobering 55 articles; the vast majority involve DUI deaths and some legal wrangling interspersed.
Police: Marin Couple Used Boy As Designated Driver
SAN ANSELMO [FL] — Heather Choulos and boyfriend Donald Hughes face charges after police say they coaxed her 13-year-old son to be their designated driver. Marin County Sheriff’s Department Close numSlides of totalImages A Marin County couple with several drunken-driving arrests between them let a 13-year-old boy drive them home to avoid another DUI, according to police. San Anselmo Police Sgt. Rob Schneider said the incident occurred after the three had dinner at a downtown restaurant, LoCoco’s Italian Pizzeria on San Anselmo Avenue, Sunday night. Officers investigating a Land Rover stalled along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near Center Boulevard discovered the underaged driver. Schneider said the boy claimed he stopped because he was “freaked out” and refused to drive further. The couple apparently were too intoxicated to drive and asked the teen to be their designated driver, Schneider said. He indicated that the boy stopped the vehicle after he drove a few blocks, realized he was going the wrong way, turned around and became scared. Heather Choulos, 32, of Mill Valley appeared in court Tuesday on charges of child endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor—both misdemeanors. The 13-year-old is the son of Choulos, police said. “She made a bad decision,” Detective Cpl. Julie Gorwood said. A reporter’s message left at a number listed for Choulos was not returned. Her boyfriend, Donald Hughes, 29, of San Rafael, faces a public intoxication charge.
Zillah man dies in accident outside Bellingham
ZILLAH, Wash. — A Bellingham, Wash., man is facing a vehicular homicide charge for the death of a Zillah man who died after the pickup he was riding in left the road and struck a tree early Sunday, according to the Washington State Patrol. Kenneth W. Maden, 57, of Zillah was one of four passengers in the 2005 Dodge Ram driven by 41-year-old Robert A. Milan. A State Patrol news release said the crash was alcohol-related, and none of the men in the pickup was wearing a seat belt when Milan’s pickup went off the road shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday in the community of Sudden Valley, several miles east of Bellingham. Milan and the other three passengers were injured and taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham.
Homicide by vehicle while DUI charges filed against Perry County woman
An arrest warrant has been issued for a Perry County woman accused of homicide by vehicle while intoxicated in connection with the 2007 crash that killed her husband. Susan Marie Loper, 55, of the 100 block of Huggins Road, Penn Township, refused to give police a sample of her blood to be tested the night of the crash on Oct. 25, 2007. She made the refusal after hospital employees told her that her husband, Norwood Benjamin Loper, 48, had died from injuries he received in the crash, arrest records state. State police later received a search warrant for a sample of Susan Loper’s blood, and tests revealed it had an alcohol content of 0.21 percent, the records state. A driver can be charged with a crime if their blood alcohol level is above 0.08 percent under state law. Susan Loper was operating the couple’s Ford F-150 pickup along U.S. Routes 11/15 in New Buffalo when she tried to turn left onto Market Street and drove into the path of a southbound tractor-trailer rig, according to arrest documents. She told troopers that she had been drinking vodka and cranberry juice prior to the accident, arrest documents state. Loper has also been charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and involuntary manslaughter.
Vehicular homicide trial begins
The trial began Tuesday for a London man accused of causing the automobile accident that killed his girlfriend. Phillip M. Sias, 48, of 5939 state Route 38 NE is charged wtih aggravated vehicular homicide, a first-degree felony. If convicted, Sias faces as many as 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines. The charge stems from a crash on Plain City-Georgesville Road on April 25, 2009. Sias was driving a Nissan Maxima northbound at approximately 9 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle. The car went off the road to the right, striking a mailbox, a large boulder and came to rest against a tree, according to court documents. The passenger in the incident was Titania Chapman, 35, of London. She was taken by helicopter to Grant Medical Center in Columbus and died at 11:15 p.m. Sias also was treated at Grant. Opening statements were presented and several prosecution witnesses testified in Madison County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 6. Prosecution and defense attorneys agreed that Sias had consumed alcohol early in the evening; however, assistant prosecutor Eamon Costello argued that regardless of the amount consumed, the alcohol adversely affected Sias’ “ability to safely operate” a vehicle. Defense Attorney Doug Shaw suggested Chapman and Sias were in a previous accident that evening while Chapman was behind the wheel. He said she “relapsed to drinking” and the injuries from the prior accident were responsible for her death. He also suggested the first crash caused significant mechanical damage to the car, thus impairing Sias’ ability to control the vehicle.
Man gets 10 years for intoxication manslaughter
Sentence: After deliberating for more than eight hours, a Montgomery County jury sentenced John Lewis Howard to 10 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter. Howard, 56, of Willis, pleaded guilty to the charge Monday, and the jury began sentencing deliberations Tuesday. Howard’s attorney requested probation, and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office asked for 15–20 years in prison. According to testimony in the 221st state District Court this week, Howard was intoxicated when he crashed his motorcycle on FM 1097 in April 2008. His passenger, Tammy Hillhouse, 37, was thrown from the vehicle and died from a broken neck and severed spine.
Teen driver in fatal accident expected to be charged today
A 17-year-old Torrey Pines High School senior is expected to appear in Juvenile Court this morning to face charges in connection with a rollover crash that killed a classmate and seriously injured another. The lacrosse player, who was booked into Juvenile Hall after the crash early Sunday, will not be charged as an adult, officials with the District Attorney’s Office said yesterday. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune not to name juvenile suspects. The specific charges filed against the teen will be determined at today’s hearing by Judge George “Woody” Clarke, who also will decide if the boy can be released to the custody of his parents. The California Highway Patrol has recommended charges of felony driving under the influence and gross vehicular manslaughter, said CHP Officer Eric Newbury. Killed in the crash was Alex Capozza, 17, a popular student and surferwhose younger sister also attends the high school. Three other boys, also 17-year-old seniors at Torrey Pines, were riding in the 2008 Mazda 3 when it crashed at 1:45 a.m. on La Granada, near Rambla de las Flores in Rancho Santa Fe. A witness, Patrick Frantz, told KGTV/Channel 10 that he came upon the accident just after it happened. Frantz said the driver ran up to him and asked him to tell authorities that Frantz was behind the wheel of the Mazda. Frantz said he told the person no and called 911, the news station reported. Authorities did not release the names of the three surviving passengers, but students identified two of them as Jamie Arnold and Josh Mendoza. Jamie remains hospitalized with head injuries. The CHP said the group had been drinking at a party, and the driver was speeding when he lost control and the vehicle overturned several times. Investigators believe drugs also may have been a factor in the accident, the CHP said. Accident investigators are working with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to determine where the alcohol was obtained and whether parents or older relatives were involved. “Right now we haven’t definitively determined where the alcohol came from,” said Gerald Ackley, a sergeant with the ABC trace unit. Ackley said there were at least 10 to 15 people at the house party, and more than one person could have supplied the alcohol. Ackley said he expects the investigation to take about two months.
Spurlin pleads not guilty to drunk driving, manslaughter in wreck that killed Medfield mom
Medfield — Jason Spurlin pleaded not guilty at a superior court arraignment Tuesday to drunk driving and manslaughter charges stemming from an Independence Day car wreck that claimed the lives of three young area residents. His broken right arm and other injuries from the accident appearing fully healed, Spurlin quietly entered a not guilty plea to three counts of manslaughter, three counts of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, operating under the influence of alcohol as a second offense, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle in Norfolk Superior Court on Tuesday morning. Spurlin, 31, is also charged with speeding and marked lanes violations. Walpole police say Spurlin was driving at 70 mph down East Street in Walpole before he lost control of his passenger-filled Jeep and careened off the road at the High Plain Street fork and hit a tree, resulting in the deaths of his fiancé — 23-year-old Amanda Murray of Medfield — and Nick Kelly and Anna Dubois, both 20, of Walpole. According to police reports, Spurlin told officers after the accident he drank eight beers during Walpole’s annual Night Before the Fourth celebration downtown prior to getting behind the wheel. The accident occurred after midnight — the morning of July 4. Spurlin pleaded not guilty to similar charges at the district court level on July 6. He was brought before superior court and indicted in August. Spurlin, a Florida native and father of a 4-month-old boy, is being held at the Norfolk County Correctional Center. His son, whose mother was Murray, is currently in the care of relatives. At the request of Assistant District Attorney George Papachristos on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh upped Spurlin’s bail from $75,000 to $100,000. He is being held without prejudice — meaning that, although Spurlin’s court appointed defense attorney Elliot Levine did not argue the bail increase Tuesday, he withholds the right to do so in the future.
Dover man rejects plea deal in fatal drunken driving trial
KINNELON [DE] — A Dover man rejected a plea deal today in which he would have admitted to driving drunk and killing two teenage pedestrians in Kinnelon 2 1/2 and been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Instead, Eugene Baum, 48, chose to stand trial for the April 20, 2006, deaths of 15-year-old Mayada Jafar of Kinnelon and her cousin, 16-year-old Athear Jafar of Jefferson. If convicted by a jury, Baum could face up to 80 years in prison. Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto, sitting in Morristown, scheduled the trial for Jan. 11. Baum, who rejected the plea offer from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, is charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter and a motor-vehicle offense of driving drunk. At the time of his arrest, Baum had a blood-alcohol level of 0.305, nearly four times the state’s legal limit of 0.08. The plea offer called for Baum to plead guilty to the two counts of aggravated manslaughter and driving drunk, have the other counts dismissed, and be sentenced to a pair of consecutive 10-year terms, with a minimum of 85 percent, or 17 years, of parole ineligibility. Baum mulled the offer for several hours with his attorney, John Iaciofano, before rejecting it. The victims’ parents, who were in court yesterday, appeared crestfallen when a prosecutor broke the news to them. The parents did not speak during the hearing and declined to comment afterward. Iaciofano has filed a motion to pursue a rarely invoked defense of “pathological intoxication.” The concept, which is roughly akin to raising an insanity defense, claims someone regularly became so intoxicated that they had no control over their alcohol or drug addictions and became oblivious to their actions. The girls’ cell phones were found at the scene, and Iaciofano also told the judge he plans to file a motion to obtain their phone records because it could show they were distracted at the time they were struck. “It goes to causation,” Iaciofano said. “The defense is entitled to see whether or not the victims were speaking on their cell phones at the time of the accident.” Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood shot back, “The girls were on the shoulder” of the road when Baum’s vehicle left his lane of travel and plowed into them as they walked. Those motions, as well as defense motions to suppress Baum’s statements to police and to suspend the criminal proceedings because he supposedly cannot participate in his defense due to having no recollection of the crash, will be heard in coming months before the trial begins.
Teen charged with felony DUI after crashing into biker in Myrtle Beach
A 17-year-old Columbia woman remains jailed after she reportedly struck a motorcyclist Sunday morning in Myrtle Beach [SC] while driving under the influence, according to police records. Laodicea Phillips is charged with two counts of felony driving under the influence with great bodily injury and one count of disregarding a traffic signal. Bond was set at $40,000 on Monday morning by a judge in Myrtle Beach Municipal Court. Phillips was then transferred to J. Reuben Long Detention Center outside of Conway. The crash occurred at 2:17 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 501 and Broadway Street, according to jail records. Phillips was driving a 2007 Suzuki Aerio and traveling north on Broadway Street when she proceeded through a red light at a high rate of speed and struck the victim on the left side of his motorcycle, according to police records. The victim was thrown from his motorcycle and came to rest about 25 yards from the point of impact, police said. It is not known if the victim was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, said Capt. David Knipes of Myrtle Beach police. Phillips continued northbound and stopped after striking a building in the area, the report shows. The victim underwent surgery Sunday morning at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C. and was listed in serious but stable condition.
February trial set in Gillispie DUI case
LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. — A judge set a February trial Tuesday in the drunken-driving case against former Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie. Gillispie, who coached at Texas A&M, wasn’t in Anderson County District Court for Monday’s hearing, but attorney William Patrick appeared on his behalf. He said afterward Gillispie was still considering a prosecution plea offer, which Patrick declined to disclose. “A decision has not been made on whether to accept the offer,” Patrick said. “It’s his decision, not mine.” Judge Linda Armstrong set a trial for Feb. 10–11 and scheduled a final preliminary hearing for Nov. 2. County Attorney Bobbi Jo Lewis has acknowledged offering Gillispie a plea deal but in a statement sent last week said she would not amend the case to a lesser charge than DUI. “I cannot speak for how Mr. Gillispie has been treated in the past, but in Anderson County he will be treated just like any other person arrested for DUI,” Lewis said. “Anderson County has one of the highest DUI conviction rates in the state when compared to similar counties, indicating our firm stance on DUI prosecutions which we will continue now and in the future.” Lewis declined Monday to comment further.
Man charged in fatal DUI crash had gotten into an earlier accident: prosecutors
A 27-year-old Ohio man — who had a blood alcohol level of .148 when his car slammed into another car, killing two South Side men — had gotten into another accident just before Saturday’s fatal crash, Cook County prosecutors said. After drinking a bottle of Arbor Mist wine and three vodka martinis, David Barbour, 27, struck a car at 62nd and Ashland, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Jodi Peterson. A witness observed Barbour get out of his car and begin yelling at the other motorist before he got back in his vehicle and started driving at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic, Peterson said. Barbour blew through a red light at Ashland and 59th and slammed into a car driven by William Taylor, 27, authorities said. Taylor and a passenger, Lawrence Peterson, 28, were pronounced dead on arrival at Holy Cross Hospital, Peterson said at Barbour’s bond hearing. Barbour was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail. A third passenger in Taylor’s car was hospitalized in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, Peterson said. There were no passengers in Barbour’s car. Barbour had left a bar before the accident, and was driven to his car at 82nd and Ashland. He was offered a ride to his destination twice, but refused, Peterson said. Barbour faces two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI, according to police. He is also charged with disobeying a traffic control signal, negligent driving and driving without insurance.
Driver may face homicide charge in fatal Sudden Valley crash
4 hurt; alcohol use suspected as pickup plows into tree
A Bellingham [WA] man is facing charges of vehicular homicide after an early morning crash in which one man was killed and four others injured Sunday, Oct. 4, in Sudden Valley. All five men were in a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup that was heading west on Sudden Valley Drive about 2 a.m. when it veered off the road and struck a tree, according to the Washington State Patrol. A 57-year-old man from Zillah, a city southeast of Yakima, died after being transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital. His name is being withheld pending family notification. The other four men, who are all from Bellingham, were transported to St. Joseph Hospital with injuries. The driver, Robert Milan, 41, remained in the intensive-care unit late Sunday afternoon. Information on the condition of the other three passengers — Michael Peppers, 25; Nick Peppers, 26; and Wade Bucher, 30 — was not immediately available. None of the men were wearing their seat belts, and alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Parolee charged in Crestwood fatal crash
A Markham [IL] man on parole for a 2006 reckless homicide has been charged with slamming into several vehicles Thursday at a Crestwood intersection, killing a Country Club Hills man and injuring several other people. Bruce Dozier was charged with reckless homicide, aggravated driving under the influence of drugs and driving under the influence of drugs; and cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash and operating an uninsured motor vehicle, Crestwood police said. Police said the charges were filed Saturday. No bail information was immediately available. The incident was captured by several video sources and additional sources are being sought. Dozier was on parole for a 2006 reckless homicide, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was also sentenced in 2003 for aggravated battery to a peace officer/fireman.
Teen Killed In Rancho Santa Fe Rollover Crash
SAN DIEGO [CA]– A Torrey Pines High School senior was in custody Monday on suspicion of driving drunk and causing a crash that killed a classmate and critically injured another in Rancho Santa Fe, authorities said. The solo-vehicle crash occurred around 1:45 a.m. Sunday in the 5000 block of La Granada, along the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. Alex Capozza, a 17-year-old senior at Torrey Pines High School, died at the scene when the speeding 2008 Mazda 3 crashed and rolled several times into bushes, the Medical Examiner’s Office reported. tentatively scheduled for Monday. The California Highway Patrol said the vehicle was full of Torrey Pines students who had just left a party, including 17-year-old Jamie Arnold, who was later hospitalized in critical condition with blunt head trauma. Neither he nor Capozza were wearing a seatbelt, the CHP reported. The driver, identified as 18-year-old Branden Butler, faces charges of drunken driving and gross vehicular manslaughter. CHP Sgt. Lew Hall said the driver and two other passengers, both 17, were wearing seatbelts and escaped injury.
Kan. teen charged in fatal accident
WELLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — A Wellington-area teenager has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a fatal accident southeast of Wellington. Prosecutors say 21-year-old Patrick Burr is expected to appear in court Monday. Sumner County Sheriff Deputy Aaron Lamb says Burr was driving a pickup with four passengers Saturday southeast of Wellington when he collided with a car. 1 of his passengers, 19-year-old Brayden Wiley-Poppelwell, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Nobody else was seriously hurt. Lamb says Burr was arrested at the scene for suspicion of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol and other charges.
Anger Builds: Driver in Fatal I-80 Crash Had Two Prior DUI Arrests — But Never Went to Court
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA — Anti-drunk driving advocates said they want to know why authorities didn’t do more to keep a Sacramento man with two prior DUI arrests from getting behind the wheel before a fatal crash on Interstate 80 Friday that killed three people. Michael Neal, 51, remained hospitalized Saturday with a broken pelvis and ribs after the violent crash near the Antelope Road exit of I-80 Friday afternoon. Neal was driving a Honda Accord when he clipped the back of another car, careened across all westbound lanes and up a dirt embankment where the passenger side slammed into a tree, California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lizz Dutton said. Two women passengers in the back seat of the Honda died at the scene. A third, identified as a 26-year-old Sacramento woman, was transported to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, where she died from her injuries. The names of the victims were not released pending family notifications. Dutton said Neal was driving on a suspended license and was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash. According to Sacramento County court records, Neal was arrested for two prior DUI incidents since 1999, including one last year. Neither of those charges were prosecuted because Neil didn’t appear in court, leading to his license suspension. “He really should never have been on the road again. The fact that he had a suspended license means absolutely nothing to him,” Mothers Against Drunk Driving state program coordinator Silas Myers said. “As an offender, he will continue to drive as long as he wants to.”
NYPD investigating handling of blood test in officer’s fatal DWI case
NEW YORK — All too often, cops follow an unwritten rule if they’re arrested for driving while drunk — don’t take the blood alcohol test, no way, no how. As the circumstances surrounding the vehicular manslaughter arrest of NYPD Officer Andrew Kelly starkly illustrated this weekend, police officers often are unwilling to take a Breathalyzer test, or submit to a blood test, after they’ve been pulled over for drunken driving or gotten into a car crash. Several law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, say they’d never blow into a Breathalyzer — the risk of producing scientific evidence of inebriation is too great, and a drunken-driving conviction means they’ll have to give up their badge. “If you think you’d going to fail, you don’t take the test,” said one source. Kelly, a seven-year veteran of the NYPD assigned to the 68th Precinct, struck and killed Vionique Valnord, the 33-year-old daughter of a Brooklyn pastor, as she crossed the street in the borough’s Flatlands neighborhood. Kelly refused to take a Breathalyzer test, and, the Daily News reported, it took authorities more than seven hours to administer a blood test, which showed no trace of alcohol. Kelly’s four passengers in his SUV left the scene of the crash. One of them, Michael Downs, a fellow police officer living in Eltingville, later turned himself in. Downs hasn’t been charged criminally, but he has been suspended, and one police source said it’s likely he’ll lose his job.
Motorcyclist pleads not guilty in DUI crash
A Cheyenne man charged with aggravated vehicular homicide while driving under the influence after the passenger on his motorcycle died in a crash has pleaded not guilty. Marvin E. Steiner Jr. pleaded not guilty Friday to killing 28-year-old Heather R. Hartley in the motorcycle crash east of Cheyenne on May 29. The 54-year-old Steiner is accused of crashing while racing another driver. Police say Hartley was pronounced dead at the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center on the night of the crash. Authorities say Steiner was released from jail on his own recognizance because he still has medical needs from the crash. Steiner on Friday was ordered to continue wearing an alcohol monitor bracelet. Robert R. Rose, Steiner’s attorney, had sought weekly testing instead because of the $100-a-week cost of the bracelet to his client.
DUI is charged in hit-run that injured city cyclist
A bicyclist hit Friday night by a truck in Center City remained in critical condition yesterday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The charges against the 79-year-old man accused of hitting the female cyclist were upgraded to driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident. Initially he was charged with suspicion of driving under the influence. Neither his name nor the woman’s was released by police. The woman, believed to be in her 40s, was hit about 7:30 p.m. at 22d and Market Streets. SEPTA police stopped the truck at 22d and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Man arrested in Orem after suspected DUI crash
Orem [UT] police arrested a suspected drunken driver after a crash that left a man with serious injuries early Sunday morning. The 24-year-old man ran a red light at Main Street and University Parkway just after midnight, said police Lt. Steve Barrett. He hit another car broadside, seriously injuring the other driver. He then got out of the car in the median and ran from the scene, Barrett said. Witnesses followed him as he ran to a house about three blocks away and pointed him out to police. The other driver was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where he was expected to recover from his injuries. The 24-year-old was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence of alcohol because of previous DUI convictions, Barrett said.
Driver Cited In Death of 17 year old Ludlow Resident
SPRINGFIELD, Mass (WGGB)- The driver of the 1992 Nissan Maxima that crashed early Friday morning in Springfield, killing 17-year-old Ludlow High School student Alicia Rodrigues, has been cited in connection with her death Sunday. Springfield Police Sgt. Thomas Long said a citation for 18-year-old Jake Trombley has been issued, charging him with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. Police had previously noted that alcohol and speed had been suspected as causes for the crash, which occurred just after 1 a.m. Friday. Trombley will be summonsed into Springfield District Court Oct. 15, according to court’s clerk’s office. It is the second drunken driving-related tragedy in one week across Western Massachusetts, after 6-year-old Kyier Douchette of Holyoke was killed Sept. 25 after being struck while in a crosswalk at the intersection of Main and Cabot streets in Holyoke. Angel Ortiz, 34, was charged in connection to Douchette’s death with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol.
Prosecutor: Juries should know about past DUI homicide convictions
Tracking DUI arrests, and why solving the problem of DUI is so difficult. What are the odds? If you roll the dice enough times, lucky seven eventually will come up. Under the same theory, if you drive drunk enough times, something bad eventually will happen. That’s a simplified explanation behind the commonwealth’s argument for seeking admission of prior DUI convictions in two pending York County [PA] DUI homicide trials. The prosecution contends both drivers showed malice — a blatant and callous disregard for others’ lives — when they chose to drive drunk. And, under an exception to the “prior bad acts” statute, the prosecution wants to inform both juries of the two defendants’ past crimes. Under state and federal law, the prosecution cannot reveal prior convictions just to establish a defendant has a propensity to break the law or is of “bad character.” And the prosecution also is barred from offering evidence that would be unfairly prejudicial to the defendant despite its value to the prosecution. In both pending cases, prosecutor Timothy Barker argued under the exception for the admission of the evidence to establish the fatal crashes had “an absence of mistake or accident.” Barker also referred to the exception to the prior bad acts prohibition as “the doctrine of chance.” “The more something occurs, the more you are able to predict what the outcome will be,” he said. In both cases, the defendants have multiple prior DUI convictions. And in both cases, the defense filed pre-trial motions to suppress that information. In September, York County Judge John S. Kennedy issued a one-sentence order ruling Julianne Fetrow’s previous vehicular homicide, as well as her four prior DUI convictions and her attendance of court-ordered alcohol safety classes, will be admissible at her trial. Last week, Judge Michael J. Brillhart took notice of that ruling while hearing argument on the pending prosecution of Travis Wagner Fowler. Barker argued Monday for admission of Fowler’s four prior drunk driving convictions and his attendance of court-ordered alcohol safety classes.
Three Dead, DUI Suspected in Citrus Heights I-80 Crash
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA — Three women died and the driver of their car faces DUI charges in a crash on Interstate 80 in Citrus Heights Friday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol. CHP Officer Lizz Dutton said that just before 2 p.m., 51-year-old Michael Neal of Sacramento was carrying three passengers and traveling at a high rate of speed on westbound I-80 near the Antelope Road exit when he clipped a Honda CRX. Neal lost control of the Honda Accord as the car careened across all westbound lanes and up a dirt embankment where the passenger side slammed into a tree, Dutton said. Two women passengers in the back seat of the Honda died at the scene. A third, identified as a 26-year-old Sacramento woman, was transported to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, where she died from her injuries, Dutton said. The names of the victims were not released pending family notifications. Neal was taken to Sutter Roseville Hospital with broken ribs and pelvic injuries, said Dutton. Dutton said Neal was driving on a suspended license and was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash. He was expected to be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail once he is cleared to leave the hospital. According to Sacramento County court records, Neal was arrested for two prior DUI incidents since 1999, including one last year. Neither of those charges were prosecuted because Neil didn’t appear in court, leading to his license suspension. The driver of the CRX, Nancy Jellison of Auburn, said she and her friend pulled over after their car was hit, then saw the wreckage of the other vehicle. “We ran up to the car to see if we could help them,” Jellison said. “Three of them were unconscious, one was semi-conscious. We were just telling them not to move until the fire department could get there.” Jellison said she and her passenger had some back pain from the accident, but suffered no serious injuries. Everyone involved in the crash was wearing a seat belt, Dutton said.
Ruling: Warrant needed for DUI blood tests
PORTLAND, Ore. – With the potential to become a landmark ruling, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled 5–4 Wednesday that police need to obtain a warrant to check a person’s blood-alcohol content. The court said a defendant was coerced by police to give a blood sample. The case, Oregon v. Machuca, overturned Thomas Gregory Machuca’s conviction of driving under the influence of intoxicants. According to the ruling, Machuca, a resident of West Linn, wrecked his car on Naito Parkway in Portland just before 2 a.m. on June 1, 2005, suffered injuries and was taken to Oregon Health and Science University for treatment. Portland Police Officer Joshua Ladd arrived at the scene of the accident around 2 a.m. and concluded at 2:10 a.m. that he suspected Machuca to be drunk. Ladd went to OHSU to question Machuca and asked him if he would take a blood test. Machuca agreed. The court, however, ruled that Machuca was coerced because the “consent was procured through a threat of economic harm and loss of privileges.” Machuca said that he gave consent after he was warned by Ladd that he could face a $1,000 fine and a one-year suspension of his license if he did not take the test, Willamette Week reported. The court agreed: “Article I, section 9, provides that “[n]o law shall violate the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search, or seizure * * *.” “The extraction of a blood sample by the police is both a search of the person and a seizure of an ‘effect’–the person’s blood.” State v. Milligan, 304 Or 659, 664, 748 P2d 130 (1988). Warrantless searches and seizures are per se unreasonable unless the state proves an exception to the warrant requirement. State v. Bridewell, 306 Or 231, 235, 759 P2d 1054 (1988).” John Henry Hingson III, a defense attorney, agreed with the court’s ruling and said, “There is no drunk-driving exception to the Constitution.” Hingson, who wrote “How to Defend a Drunk Driving Case: A Guide to Practical, Procedural and Legal Aspects” said the case “is a reaffirmation of the strength of the Constitution of the State of Oregon and the Constitution of the United States.” The ruling will have a significant impact on how police officers present evidence on DUII cases. The Portland Police Bureau said in a statement that “We are educating our officers about the new ruling but will continue to enforce DUII laws. This ruling won’t stop us from protecting the public and arresting drunk drivers.” Hingson said that with current technology there’s no excuse not to get a warrant. “If you want to, you can take your smartphone or your iPhone [and] e-mail a judge,” he said. He also said the ruling further strengthens individual rights from an unlawful search. “The Constitution applies to murder cases, robbery cases, rape cases, and drunk-driving cases the same,” he said. He also said the ruling could have a significant impact in the future on whether a breath test can be conducted without a warrant. It is still not clear how the ruling will affect how prosecutors try drunken-driving cases. But an appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court is likely.
Teen gets 15 years for deadly DUI crash
A judge in Orange County, Calif., sentenced a teenage boy to 15 years in prison for a 2008 drunken driving crash that claimed the life of a classmate. Orange County Superior Judge Carla Singer sentenced Milad Moulayi, 18, to the maximum sentence on a second-degree murder conviction Friday for the crash that killed 16-year-old Mackenzie Frazee, The Orange County Register reported. Testimony during Moulayi’s trial showed the then-16-year-old was urged not to drive after downing numerous shots of rum at a late-night party Aug. 28, 2008. While at least three people refused to ride home with the intoxicated teen, Frazee agreed to go with him. An accident-reconstruction expert testified at Moulayi’s trial that while driving home, the unlicensed teen drove at speeds of more than 100 mph before smashing into a concrete light pole. The Register said Frazee died of massive blunt-force trauma, while Moulayi was treated for minor injuries and later was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent.
Official to get prison for DUI crash
A jury fails to deliver a verdict on the most serious charge against deputy labor secretary Allen Cwalina, but a judge convicts him of three lesser counts. Allen Cwalina told a jury he drank alcohol only after a 2008 crash near his Lower Allen Twp. home. Deputy state labor secretary Allen Cwalina will serve at least 30 days in prison for a 2008 alcohol-related crash in his state car. Cwalina, 50, of Lower Allen Twp., faces prison even though a Cumberland County jury Friday couldn’t reach a verdict on the most serious of the four drunken-driving-related charges against him. Judge J. Wesley Oler Jr. convicted Cwalina on three lesser DUI-related charges that the judge considered separately during the trial.
Fierro jury unswayed by defense trickery (editorial)
So ends one chapter in another tragic tale of late-night drunkenness in Santa Fe [MS]: Carlos Fierro, once a promising young lawyer working his way through the political system toward higher office, Friday was found guilty of vehicular homicide. The bleary-drunk Fierro, on a late-November night last year, drove his high-priced car into local personality William Tenorio — and sped away before being caught a few blocks away. Tenorio died hours later. Compounding the outrage was that his passenger was a state police officer — one so highly thought of that he was part of the governor’s security detail. Sgt. Alfred Lovato still faces trial over his part in the incident. Nothing in the verdict, and the proceedings to follow, will bring back Tenorio, a 46-year-old father of three. His family was a portrait of class throughout the proceedings — during which Fierro’s defense attorneys threw everything procedural but the kitchen sink at District Attorney “Spence” Pacheco and her assistant, Juan Valencia. It was about all the defense could do: put the victim on trial — and, for good measure, the prosecution. Under our system of justice, defense lawyers owe their utmost efforts on their clients’ behalf — and Jason Bowles certainly gave that to Fierro. This case, from just days after the incident to Friday’s verdicts, saw defense-bar aggression reach a new plateau. But it went beyond that this week when it came to instructions to the jury — a process demanding honesty and openness between attorneys for the defendant and for the state. That includes a correct statement of the law. Instead, the defense altered the uniform language about reasonable doubt that “the Defendant’s act was a significant cause of death” to “the defendant’s act was the significant cause.” A few lines later came what should have said, “If you find the negligence of a person other than the defendant was the only significant cause of death, then the Defendant is not guilty of the offense of homicide by vehicle.” This was altered to say “the negligence of a person other than the Defendant was a significant cause of death.” In those words could have lain the difference between conviction and acquittal — so this wasn’t mere mistaken choice of language, nor was it harmless tinkering with the law; it was a blatant attempt to mislead the jury. Bowles angrily denies it — and the indignation is understandable: His behavior begs for a close look from the state bar. According to state rules, “the uniform instruction must be used without substantive modification or substitution.” Changes must be noted as such.
Driver of Fatal Crash That Killed Two Is Arrested and Charged
The driver of a vehicle in which two passengers were killed, was arrested by Tigard [OR] Police this morning. Cory Wayne Warwick, 23, of Aloha, turned himself in at the Tigard Police Department after learning he was recently indicted by a Washington County Grand Jury. Warwick is charged with two counts of Manslaughter I and DUII. Warwick was the driver of a modified 1967 Camaro that crashed in the early morning hours on October 10, 2008 along 135th Avenue near Brittany Drive. Nick Anderson, 21 years old at the time and 22 year old Shimona Ruscroelli were passengers in the vehicle. Both perished as a result of injuries sustained during the high speed single car crash. Warwick was ejected from the vehicle during the crash and was found on a rooftop of the home next to where the vehicle ultimately came to rest on its top. Warwick was hospitalized for an extensive time and spent months recovering at home. A host of law enforcement agencies assisted the Tigard Police Traffic Unit with the investigation which included numerous witnesses. Experts connected with traffic reconstruction were an integral part of the extensive and intrinsic information surrounding the crash which was compiled by Tigard Police Officer Rod Morse, the lead investigator and member of the Washington County CART. Warwick is currently lodged at the Washington County Jail.
City Councilwoman pleads guilty to DUI charges
Arrested in June on drunken driving charges, Charleston City [SC] Councilwoman Debra Morinelli has plead guilty to the DUI charge and a charge of having an open container of alcohol in her vehicle.
Local School Bus Driver Allegedly Drove Drunk
OJAI [CA] — A bus driver has been arrested on suspicion of DUI after after colliding with a pickup truck with 31 kids onboard. Highway Patrol officers say 53-year old Ojai resident Kim Fullenwider was arrested after the crash which occurred at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday at Baldwin and Los Encinos roads in Live Oak Acres. CHP Officer Steve Reid says Fullenwider was driving west on Baldwin when she made a U-turn in front of an eastbound pickup truck driven by 60-year old Dimitros Poulos. There were 31 students on the bus at the time but no one was hurt, Reid said. The bus sustained moderate damage, Reid said. The students were headed to Meiners Oaks, Nordhoff High and Matilija Junior High schools, Reid said. After the collision, another bus was summoned to pick up the children, he said. Fullenwider, a 19 year veteran bus driver, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving and 31 counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. Police would not release her blood alcohol level.
Millcreek Township constable candidate faces trial on DUI and weapon charges
A Millcreek Township [PA] constable candidate faces trial on charges he fought with security at an Erie nightclub and then drove away from the club while intoxicated. Keith E. Coleman, 24, appeared Thursday before Erie 6th Ward District Judge Dominick DiPaolo and waived a preliminary hearing on misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence and possessing an offensive weapon, and three summary charges, public drunkenness, harassment and failure to stop at a red light. Coleman, of the 5100 block of Clinton Street, declined to comment through his lawyer, Eric Mikovch. Coleman is the Democratic candidate on the ballot for Millcreek Township constable in the municipal election on Nov. 3. He won the spot on the ticket through a write-in campaign and will face off against Republican Bill J. Petersen, of the 5400 block of Cray Road. According to a criminal complaint filed by Erie police, the charges stem from an incident that occurred in the Zone nightclub, 133 W. 18th St., at about 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 8. Police said Coleman fought with security staff who had to remove him twice from the women’s restroom at the club. Police said Coleman also tried to choke one of the security guards as he was being removed from the restroom. Once Coleman left the club, he “peeled out” of the club’s parking lot in a car that had three flat tires, then passed through a red light at the intersection of State and 18th streets without stopping, police said. Police said he had a strong odor of alcohol about him. He was also found to be in possession of an all-plastic knife, with a modified handle that was not detectable by a metal detector, police said.
Driver arrested on suspicion of DUI after hitting tow truck in Danville
A 23-year-old Danville man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he hit a tow truck early this morning, injuring himself and the truck operator, the California Highway Patrol said. A tow truck operator was tending to a vehicle parked on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 680 north of Diablo Road about 1 a.m. when a Toyota 4Runner crashed into the back of his truck, said Officer Tom Maguire. The driver, identified as Kevin Dubrall, suffered a cut to his head and an abrasion to his arm, and the tow truck operator suffered a back injury, Maguire said. The operator was outside his truck when the crash occurred, but it was not clear how he was injured. Both men were taken to local hospitals. Dubrall was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI before being released to the hospital, Maguire said.
Easley man charged with DUI, hit and run after Greenville collisions
GREENVILLE COUNTY [SC] — An Easley man is charged with felony DUI and leaving the scene of an accident after troopers say he was involved in two accidents in a matter of minutes. Keith Earl Wykle, 52, of 154 Long Creek Drive, was arrested after the collisions, said Lance Cpl. Jeff Gaskin with the S.C. Highway Patrol. The first collision occurred at 8:28 a.m. Wednesday as Wykle was traveling eastbound on S.C. 124 in a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria, Gaskin said. Wykle’s car struck a 2005 moped driven by Greenville resident Glenn Otto, Gaskin said. Otto was thrown from the moped and injured in the collision, Gaskin said. He was transported to Greenville Memorial Hospital, he said. Otto was not wearing a helmet. Wykle is accused of then fleeing the scene, only to collide with another vehicle, a 1999 Subaru, driven by Greenville resident Ethel Hall, Gaskin said. Hall and a passenger in her vehicle were taken to GMH for treatment of injuries. Wykle was injured in the collisions and was also transported to GMH for treatment. The Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident, Gaskin said.
EPD to fine DUI drivers for emergency response
The Eureka [CA] Police Department began a cost recovery program Thursday that will charge drivers a $350 fee if they create the need for an emergency response due to driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The EPD has been working on the details of the fee for about three months, said Police Chief Garr Nielsen. ”People who drive under the influence and are involved in a traffic accident end up costing us an inordinate amount of resources,” Nielsen said. The fee isn’t expected to add much to the city’s general fund, but it should help offset the resources used for emergency situations involving DUIs. The new fee will be assessed immediately and those fined will have 15 days to pay the amount in full, even though their case will not have gone to court yet. After debating how long people should be given, 15 days seemed reasonable, Nielsen said. ”We feel like it’s imperative that people are held accountable,” he said. If the fee is not paid within 15 days, it will go to a collection agency. Insurance policies cannot pay the fine, according to an EPD press release. California Government Code allows police departments to collect fees for specific situations, including emergency responses resulting from a DUI driver’s actions. Eureka City Attorney Sheryl Schaffner said that because the fee is civil and not criminal, the threshold for evidence is not as great. The stakes are also different.
Newark man faces felony DUI charges after Route 404 crash
BRIDGEVILLE, DEL. — On Thursday, just after 8 p.m., a trooper traveling northbound on U.S. 13 at Route 404, drove up upon a two-vehicle property-damage collision that had just occurred. The trooper made contact with both operators involved in the crash and learned the at-fault driver, who had rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, was allegedly intoxicated. The trooper made contact with William E. Boulden, 43, of Newark, and could detect a strong odor of alcoholic beverages coming from Boulden’s breath. A DUI investigation was conducted and Boulden was subsequently arrested for DUI. During the DUI investigation, the suspect was patted down and a small bag of marijuana was found in his possession. Boulden has been previously convicted of three DUI offenses, making this fourth arrest a felony offense. In addition to the felony DUI charge, Boulden was arrested for possession of marijuana, driving at an unreasonable speed, and failure to have his license in possession. Boulden was committed to Sussex Correctional Institute, after failing to post $5,601 secured bond.
Beach man charged with DUI after Sandbridge crash
VIRGINIA BEACH [VA] — A Beach man was in jail Friday, charged with DUI and felony hit-and-run after a crash in which his girlfriend was left trapped in waist-deep water, police said. Police said Michael Brandon Walck, 23, lost control and ran into a ditch on Sandbridge Road early Friday morning. His girlfriend told police that he was drinking and ran from the scene, according to Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman. It took about an hour to remove her from the wreckage, Bernstein said. She was flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with a leg injury, he said. Officers found and arrested Walck. He was being held without bond in the Virginia Beach jail.
Driver gets 5 years in friend’s death
A West Side [OH] woman was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for running over and killing a friend who tried to stop her from driving drunk. Belinda Keeler, 44, of Bay Club Circle, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to aggravated vehicular homicide. No one at an all-day party on May 2 in the West Bay Apartment complex wanted Keeler to drive, but she insisted and tried to leave about 5 p.m., Assistant County Prosecutor Don Miller said. Shannon Bennett, 54, tried to take Keeler’s car keys from her. A witness said he hung on the hood of her car, but she drove off, eventually rolling over Bennett’s body. He died at Doctors Hospital. “He had a crush on her. He would have done anything for her,” Jody Feist, one of Bennett’s five children, said after yesterday’s hearing. A test showed that Keeler had a 0.17 percent blood-alcohol level. An Ohio motorist is presumed intoxicated at 0.08 percent. Judge Beverly Y. Pfeiffer accepted a negotiated plea that shaved three years off the maximum sentence of eight years. She said Keeler is not eligible for early release and must forfeit her Ohio driver’s license for life. Feist and three of Bennett’s other daughters were in the courtroom and heard Keeler tearfully apologize for his death.
Des Moines. woman may have told police she was drunk, documents show
Police and court documents indicate that the alleged driver in a fatal hit-and-run accident Saturday in Des Moines [IA] may have told police she was intoxicated. Angela Marie Arellano, 36, of Des Moines was charged Monday with vehicular homicide while intoxicated in connection with the accident that killed Devin Fry, 13, and injured Rabiatu Juliana Timothy, 17. A police report, as amended on Wednesday, says, “Through witness and driver statements, the driver was determined to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.” Also, records at the Polk County Courthouse concerning the homicide by vehicle charge filed against Arellano say the defendant is implicated in the crime by admission statements. Court records do not provide detail about statements. Police Sgt. Lori Lavorato said the department will not reveal how it determined Arellano was intoxicated at the time of the accident. The accident near Sampson Street and East University Avenue took place shortly before midnight Saturday. Police were not able to talk to Arellano until Monday morning when she showed up for questioning with an attorney. Prosecutors commonly rely on blood and urine tests to show that a driver was intoxicated. But those tests cannot be performed if there is a long delay in locating the driver because evidence of alcohol would diminish over time. Arellano, a state courts interpreter, also is charged with serious injury by vehicle. If convicted, Arellano faces 25 years in prison on the vehicular homicide charge and five years for the serious injury by vehicle charge. She is in the Polk County Jail on an $80,000 cash-only bond. Arraignment is set for Nov. 10.
Man to stand trial on homicide by vehicle charges in Lebanon County crash that killed 2
The Florida man accused in a double-fatal accident Sept. 1 in Union Township, Lebanon, County [PA], will stand trial on charges that include homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI and more. Richard James Finch, 28, of Cape Coral, Fla., waived his preliminary hearing in Lebanon County central court Thursday. Killed in the crash were driver John D. Kroh, 67, of Tremont, Schuylkill County, and passenger John F. Becker, 70, of Pine Grove. Seriously injured was another passenger, Kathryn M. Becker, 81, also of Schuylkill County. Kroh’s grandson, Jason Kroh Jr., 3, was unharmed in his child safety seat, state police said. Jason Kroh Jr.’s other grandfather, Robin E. Lucas, 47, also of Tremont, was also killed in a crash Sept. 1 when he lost control of his vehicle on a curve on Gold Mine Road, troopers said.
Man waives hearing on homicide by vehicle charge
BEAVER [PA] — A Beaver man waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday on charges that he killed a man in a drunken driving crash last month. Michael A. Kowal, 52, of 205 First St. now faces trial on charges including homicide by vehicle while driving drunk, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault while driving drunk, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and drunken driving. According to a Center Township police report, Kowal had a blood-alcohol level of 0.171 percent just after the 11:55 p.m. Sept. 3 accident at Brodhead and Old Brodhead roads in the township. Center police wrote that Kowal’s truck slammed into the back of a car with four passengers in it sitting at a traffic light at the intersection. Advertisement One of the passengers, Scott Boyd, 31, of Midland, was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of head injuries, and died around 6 a.m. Sept. 4. Two of the other people in the car also were seriously injured, police said. There was no plea agreement reached for Kowal to waive his hearing, according to Beaver County Assistant District Attorney Chad Parks. Kowal remains free on bond.
Groton driver in fatal May crash pleads to vehicular manslaughter
A Groton man has taken responsibility for his best friend’s death. In an emotional hearing in Tompkins County Court, Timothy D. Neal admitted that he was driving drunk when he had an accident that killed Matthew McKane, 27, of Locke. Neal pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter, a Class D felony, and driving while intoxicated. Neal is scheduled to be scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17, and prosecutors are recommending he serve 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison. Neal was “sobbing uncontrollably” at his plea hearing, said his attorney Nino Lama. Neal wasn’t distraught over the prospect of prison, but the death of McKane and his part in it, Lama stressed. “He was my best friend,” Neal said during his plea last month. Neal lost control of a 1996 Dodge Caravan and struck a tree on Lafayette Road in Groton about midnight May 2, according to court papers. He was the former general manager of the Cortland Assault semi-pro football team, and McKane, the wide receiver and quarterback, was ejected from the van and died from blunt head trauma, sheriff’s officials said. McKane was pronounced dead at the scene, while Neal and passengers Melissa L. Marshall, 33, and Shaun D. Kullman, 24, of Cortland were treated at hospitals and released, the officials said. The accident occurred while Neal was driving McKane and the others from the Palm Gardens tavern in Cortland, where they had been drinking with players earlier that evening, court documents said.
DUI penalty upheld for repeat offenders
Repeat drunken drivers can legally have 10 days tacked onto their jail sentence for refusing to take a breath test, a deeply divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The court’s 4–3 decision in a Union County case overturned a state appeals court ruling that the DUI-law provision violated both the Ohio Constitution and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution barring unreasonable search and seizure. Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger and three other justices said motorists have “no constitutional right to refuse to take a reasonably reliable chemical test for intoxication.” Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer was among the dissenters who countered that the state law “amounts to coercion” and is unconstitutional. Columbus attorney Jonathan Tyack, representing motorist Corey Hoover in the case, said he plans to ask the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider its decision and, if necessary, to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court based on constitutional issues.
Comic Artie Lange pleads guilty to DUI in NJ
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Comedian and radio personality Artie Lange has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of a habit-producing drug in a minor traffic accident in New Jersey. The 41-year-old Lange was charged following the July 10 accident in Toms River, about 40 miles southeast of Trenton. He entered his plea Wednesday in municipal court. Judge James Ligouri revoked his driving privileges for seven months. Lange, a regular on radio’s “Howard Stern Show,” said he was under the influence of prescribed sleeping pills, which he had last taken the night before the crash.
Lexington Cop Arrested For DUI And Public Indecency
A part-time Lexington [OR] Police Officer has been placed on administrative leave without pay after being charged with drunk driving and public indecency. Kevin Wiseman, 42, of Mansfield, was arrested Wednesday morning by Ontario Police in the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings at 2016 West Fourth St. Police discovered Wiseman and a 37-year-old woman undressed in his SUV starting to have sex. Wiseman failed a sobriety test and once taken to the police station refused to take a breath test. Wiseman has been with the Lexington Police Department for 12 years.
Police Chief Resigns After DUI Arrest
GREENWOOD, Ind. — Center Grove Schools Police Chief John Cox resigned earlier this week after an arrest last weekend on a drunken driving charge. Superintendent Steven Stephanoff said Thursday that Cox tendered his resignation to the school board on Tuesday. The school board has accepted the resignation and will begin a search for a new police chief. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department said Cox, 48, had been drinking before he came upon a checkpoint Friday in the 1100 block of North Madison Avenue. According to police, Cox told an officer that he slept in his truck for a couple of hours before hitting the road after spending the evening at a nearby bar. Cox had been suspended without pay after the incident. He had previously worked for police departments in Fishers and Key West, Fla.
Child injured in alleged DUI, swamp buggy incident
FORT MYERS [FL]: A man was arrested after his child fell off a swamp buggy the man was allegedly driving while drunk. Deputies were called about the incident on Rod & Gun Club Road around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. As a deputy rolled up on the scene, he reports Glen Maxey, 58, was chasing his wife’s car down the road in his Ford F350 pickup. The deputy stopped Maxey and detained him on suspicion of drunken driving due to his slurred speech and the smell of alcohol on his breath. Maxey allegedly told the deputy he’d had an argument with his ex-wife and she’d gotten the last word in. Determined not to let that happen, he said he chased her down the road in his truck. Maxey failed several field sobriety tests and refused a breathalyzer test. He was arrested for DUI. Deputies then spoke to Maxey’s ex-wife. She told them Maxey put the children in a swamp buggy when she dropped them off. She says Maxey had one of the children on his lap while driving the vehicle back to his home. He allegedly started driving erratically and one of the children fell out of the swamp buggy. The child suffered a bruised back and was treated by EMS. The child was then taken for further medical care after vomiting at the scene.
City Councilwoman pleads guilty to DUI, open container charges
MT. PLEASANT, SC (WCSC) — Charleston City Councilwoman Deborah Morinelli pleaded guilty to DUI and open container charges Thursday afternoon. Magistrate Thomas E. Lynn sentenced Morinelli to pay $2,529 in fines. Judge Lynn cited a clean criminal record, no previous traffic violations and her public service record as reason for the sentencing. Morinelli, 55, was not at the proceedings, which were held at a Charleston County Court in Mt. Pleasant. Her attorney, Paul Tinkler, told Lynn that Morinelli is currently in a rehab facility in Sumter, where she is being treated for alcoholism. In court, a Charleston Police officer testified the incident happened June 26 around 1:30 pm. Morinelli was found sitting in a ditch outside her car near Plainview Road and Highway 61, said Officer Heath King. She could not get up, kept falling back and had a strong smell of alcohol, he added. Morinelli admitted to having two bottles of wine, King told the judge. Inside her car, she had several eight-ounce bottles of wines, he added. Morinelli was arrested and taken to MUSC. Blood tests from the State Law Enforcement Division show Morinelli had a .29 blood alcohol level, three times the legal limit. When asked where she had been, Morinelli told King she had been at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that morning, but could not explain where she had been since then, King told the judge.
Have an old DUI and expensive 2010 Olympic plans? Read this
So, you’ve secured thousands of dollars worth of Olympic tickets and, perhaps, hotel reservations, and suddenly you’re hit with a bombshell question: Could that old DUI on your record stop your Olympic experience right at the Peace Arch border crossing? That’s the very question a number of Olympic fans asked recently, when a news piece about U.S. residents being turned around by immigration officials appeared in The Seattle Times. The answer? Quite possibly, yes. The bottom line is Canada does treat prior offenses, including DUIs, seriously, and does deny entry to many people with such offenses on their records. And, a spokesperson for Canada Border Services told me this week, there are no exceptions for fans, guests, officials or anyone else entering Canada next February just to go to the 2010 Winter Olympics. “Yes, the rules apply to everyone,” Faith St. John, communications advisor for Canada Border Services,” states in an e-mail. “Every person seeking entry to Canada must demonstrate that they meet the requirements for entry into Canada. Canada’s admissibility requirements will not change during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
2-Year-Old’s Condition Worsens From DUI Crash; Mom’s Charges Escalate
A mother is now facing child abuse charges after a rollover accident last week in which she was charged with DUI. Twenty-six-year-old Darla Rodriguez was driving north on Interstate 25 in Pueblo County [NM] when she lost control and rolled her Saturn. Her 2-year-old daughter was critically injured in the crash. The little girl was initially taken to Parkview Medical Center but then flown to Denver’s Children’s Hospital. According to court documents, the child suffered serious bodily injury and the doctor’s report says there is significant risk of serious permanent disfigurement. The documents also indicate Rodriguez admitted to drinking a 6-pack of beer before getting behind the wheel and not buckling the child up. Police found a child’s safety seat improperly installed in the car.
Augusta man sentenced for Athens hit-and-run death
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — An Augusta man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the hit-and-run death last year of a 12-year-old Athens boy who was bicycling near his home in Clarke County. Clarke County Superior Court Judge Steve Jones sentenced 24-year-old Gainesville State College student Joseph Patrick Armstrong on Wednesday under a plea agreement for the death of 12-year-old Gedera Thomas on June 8, 2008. Armstrong pleaded guilty to first-degree homicide by vehicle, DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Prosecutors dropped a second vehicular homicide count. In addition to the prison time, Jones also sentenced Armstrong to 12 years of probation.
Man charged with homicide while DUI
HAZLE TWP. [PA]– A Schuylkill County man was charged Tuesday in connection with a deadly hit-and-run that state police at Hazleton allege was alcohol related. Police said in arrest records that Jerome Robert Justofin, 45, had a blood-alcohol level of .186 percent several hours after he slammed his Dodge Ram pickup into Festus Ampomah, 47, on state Route 924 on Oct. 3, 2008. Ampomah, of Philadelphia, was walking along the highway after his tractor-trailer became disabled, police said. Police said Justofin drove to his Zion Grove home, where he told his sons that he struck a pedestrian. Justofin was charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, accidents involving death, failure to notify law enforcement authorities of an accident, two counts of driving under the influence and several traffic violations. He was arraigned by District Judge Thomas Sharkey in Hazle Township and released on $10,000 unsecured bail. According to the criminal complaint filed by Trooper Jim Donnini: Ampomah was driving a tractor-trailer that broke down at about 1:30 a.m. on Route 924, near Chestnut Hill Drive. He got out of the truck tractor and was walking along the roadway when he was struck by a vehicle. Police said Justofin’s ex-wife, Jean Michelle Justofin, called state police saying that her ex-husband struck a pedestrian. Police arrived at about 4 a.m. at Justofin’s residence, where they found him lying in bed. He told police that he was traveling home from a pool league at a bar in Conyngham, where he consumed two shots of vodka and eight to 10 beers. He said he didn’t have anything to drink after the crash except for an iced tea. Police said in the criminal complaint that Justofin displayed signs of intoxication and had trouble standing. He failed a series of field sobriety tests, police said. Justofin was taken to Hazleton General Hospital, where he consented to a blood alcohol test at 5 a.m. Police said that Justofin had a blood-alcohol content of .186 percent.
Driver with 3 DUI convictions charged with pinning man to a wall
SANTA ANA [CA] – A suspected drunken driver with three prior convictions was indicted on gross vehicular manslaughter charges for killing a pedestrian by pinning him between his car and a block wall in Santa Ana. Joel Torrejon Miranda, 40, of Santa Ana, was also accused in a sentencing enhancement of fleeing the scene of a fatal crash. He faces a potential sentence of 20-year to life in prison if convicted, according to Deputy District Attorney Jason Baez. Miranda pleaded not guilty today during an arraignment before Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals. The judge scheduled a pretrial hearing for Oct. 23. Miranda remains in custody on $1 million bail. The indictment stems from a Feb. 1 incident where Miranda was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck on Newhope Street in Santa Ana when he made an unsafe left turn in front of oncoming traffic, Baez said. Miranda’s pickup then crashed into a Mercedes-Benz driven by Nguyen Tran, 36, who quickly called 9–1-1. Miranda’s truck then went up the curb and struck pedestrian Francisco Aquino, 44, of Santa Ana. Aquino was pinned against a wall, and died at UCI Medical Center two days later. Miranda fled the scene, police said, and was arrested at his home a short time later. Investigating officers said Miranda showed signs of being drunk, including slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. He allegedly had blood alcohol level of .23 percent — almost three times the legal limit of .08 – when he was tested about 90 minutes after the crash.
Woman indicted for manslaughter flees to Texas
Officials in Texas are searching for a woman indicted earlier this month on manslaughter and assault charges in Madison County [VA]. Keiley Harrison, 24, is a Texas native who was living at an address on Churchill Drive in Richmond when she was indicted Sept. 17, said Col. Ed Robinson with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Harrison was indicted in connection with a May 27 accident on KY 52 in which her 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck collided head-on with a 1984 Ford pickup truck driven by Archie Hurley, 59, of Irvine. Hurley died in the accident, while his wife Patsy, 45, suffered facial injuries in the crash. Police believe he was not wearing a seatbelt when the collision occurred. Harrison was suspected of driving drunk in the crash, and a grand jury indicted her on charges of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and aggravated driving under the influence, second offense. Robinson said Harrison was scheduled to surrender herself to authorities at the sheriff’s office at 9 a.m. Sept. 18, but fled to Texas instead.
Police Dept. Investigating Handling of D.W.I. Case
The Police Department has begun an internal investigation into the initial police response to a fatal accident involving an off-duty police officer, and whether there was any attempt to help that officer conceal whether he was drunk, people with knowledge of the inquiry said on Wednesday. The possibility of such help brought a sharp condemnation from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who said at a news conference that “if true, the allegations of a D.W.I. hit and cover-up are reprehensible.” The off-duty officer, Andrew Kelly, 30, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated after the police said the sport utility vehicle he was driving struck a woman, Vionique Valnord, 32, about 1 a.m. on Sunday in Flatlands, Brooklyn [NY]. A second off-duty officer, Michael Downs, who was a passenger in Officer Kelly’s vehicle, was suspended. The mayor said, “Only the investigation will tell us what actually took place, but as our police commissioner, Ray Kelly, has said, our police officers are held to higher standards than anybody else, and the public can be assured that we will get to the bottom of this.”
Oregon man, 89, charged with manslaughter
VALE, Ore., — An 89-year-old Vale, Oregon man was arrested Tuesday by Oregon State Police on manslaughter and driving under the influence charges following a two vehicle fatal head-on crash on Highway 26 in northern Malheur County. According to OSP, on Tuesday, at about 8:10 p.m. a Ford pickup driven by David Messer, 60, was stopped facing westbound near the eastbound shoulder fog line with the hazard lights on near milepost 259 on Highway 26. A 1990 Ford pickup driven by Warren Edwards, from Vale, was eastbound and collided into the right front section of the stopped pickup. Messer was pronounced deceased at the scene. OSP says Edwards refused medical treatment and was subsequently arrested by OSP for the manslaughter charge. Edwards is in the Malheur County Jail.
Forgiveness, embraces as man sentenced to 16 years in Salinas DUI death
Two families torn apart by a drunken driving crash tearfully embraced one another Wednesday morning in Monterey County [CA] Superior Court Judge Terrance Duncan had just sentenced Dion Thomas Gussner to 16 years in prison for plowing his pickup truck into the Balch family’s Honda outside Salinas, killing 4-year-old Sebastian Balch. Drunken driving cases — and deaths — are not uncommon. But officials said what happened in court Wednesday was “extraordinary”: forgiveness and admitting responsibility. “We all make mistakes. We are all sinners,” Sebastian’s mother, Dr. Christa Balch, told the court in a strong voice. “We forgive you.” Balch’s wrist was still bandaged from injuries received in the Aug. 9 crash. Gussner had pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter, causing great bodily harm and injuring multiple victims, just nine days after the crash. In court Wednesday, he said he didn’t feel worthy of the Balches’ forgiveness. “I destroyed not only one family, but two,” Gussner told Duncan, the Balches and his family and friends who sat in the courtroom. Gussner, 32, of San Luis Obispo, drank five shots of whiskey and two large beers before getting into his Dodge pickup that evening.
Top Ohio court backs harsh DUI penalties
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 30 (UPI) — The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in favor of harsher penalties for drivers with drunken driving convictions who refuse breath tests if pulled over again. The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported the court ruled 4–3 in a Union County case challenging the constitutionality of tougher penalties for individuals with a prior DUI conviction if they refuse to submit to a sobriety test if arrested for a subsequent DUI violation and found guilty. Under an Ohio state law, those individuals would face 10 additional days of mandatory jail time in addition to the mandatory 10 days in jail a repeat DUI offender must serve. The Dispatch said the Union County case involved a DUI case in which a man was given the additional 10 days for a September 2006 DUI incident. While the 3rd District State Court of Appeals upheld Corey Hoover’s conviction, it cut out the additional days in jail based on the stance the sentence violated his 4th Amendment rights on unreasonable searches and seizures. “Hoover has no constitutional right to refuse to take a reasonably reliable chemical test for intoxication,” Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote in Wednesday’s ruling, which upheld the initial decision against Hoover and reversed the appellate court ruling.
[Leavenworth] superintendent accused of DUI
Leavenworth [KS] Superintendent Kelly Harris has been charged with drunken driving. Parkville Police stopped to question Harris about 4 a.m. Saturday in the 6300 block of Lewis Street, where Harris’ vehicle was pulled next to another vehicle. Harris and the other driver, who was not charged, had their lights and engines running. Parkville Police Chief Kevin L. Chrisman said Harris was “totally 100 percent cooperative” with police.
Mother Denies DUI in Crash That Disabled Her Son
A quiet evening quickly became anything but ordinary for Rich Gagnon and his son, Steven. The two volunteer firefighters were at their home in Orwell [VT] when they heard a crash near the foot of their driveway. Two cars were in the ditch. One was on fire with a mom and her two young children stuck inside. “The flames were coming under the dash and catching the driver’s seat and all I could figure was get them out of there,” Rich Gagnon said. “There was no time to wait.” Rich Gagnon and a neighbor pulled 24-year-old Heather Carpentier out of the driver’s seat. Steven Gagnon and another relative rescued the two kids. “I’ve been to some pretty bad accidents, but this is the baddest one,” Steven Gagnon remarked. About 10 seconds after they pulled everyone out the entire car went up in flames, melting everything in sight and reducing the car to a pile of rubble. Police say Carpentier was driving drunk. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday to her second DUI charge in the last 5 months. Her 1– and 4-year-old kids were in the back seat. The 4-year-old is still in the hospital with a severed spine– paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life.
Former L.A. County deputy sentenced in DUI crash
A former veteran deputy with the Los Angeles County [CA] Sheriff’s Department was sentenced today to six months in jail and three years of informal probation for injuring two people when he crashed his department-issued sport utility vehicle into their car a year ago while under the influence of alcohol, said officials with the Orange County district attorney’s office. Robert A. Moran, 43, of Buena Park has almost already completed the jail term under house arrest. He was ordered to complete a three-month first-offender program and face a Mothers Against Drunk Driving panel, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. In such panels, offenders pay MADD a fee to hear victims or relatives of victims of drunk driving crashes relate their stories. Moran pleaded no contest Feb. 27 to one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence, causing injury and one misdemeanor count of driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or more causing injury, according to the statement. Moran was driving his Chevrolet Blazer south on Beach Boulevard in Stanton about 5:30 a.m. June 29, 2008, when he crashed into a sedan near Garden Grove Boulevard, district attorney officials said. The sedan’s 33-year-old driver and his 20-year-old female passenger were knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital. At the time of the crash, the sedan’s driver was in possession of and tested positive for methamphetamine. He also tested positive for sedatives and opiates, the statement said. His case is under review, said Keith Bogardus, an Orange County deputy district attorney. His name and the name of his passenger were not released because the investigation is ongoing.
Wrentham man pleads guilty to killing Brockton deacon in drunken driving crash
BROCKTON [MA] — Two years after killing a Brockton church deacon in a Canton crash, a Wrentham man admitted he was drunk behind the wheel when he slammed into the rear of the 71-year-old’s pickup truck. Ryan M. Shaughnessy, 25, plead guilty Tuesday to motor vehicle homicide while driving drunk, a felony, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. He is set to be sentenced Nov. 9 when a pre-sentencing report is to be presented. Prosecutors had asked for his bail to be revoked but that request was denied. A conviction of motor vehicle homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol carries a one-year minimum mandatory sentence and a 15-year loss of license. Shaughnessy slammed into the rear of a pickup truck driven by Alphonso Anderson, 71, a deacon at Messiah Baptist Church and the father of five children, on Interstate 93 in Canton in 2007. Shaughnessy, who suffered minor injuries, had a long record of motor vehicle offenses before the crash. His license had just been reinstated two months before the fatal crash.
Des Moines man charged with homicide in accident
A Des Moines [IA] man is now charged in connection with a fatal accident last week that killed a passenger in his car. Des Moines police arrested 37-year-old Metrick Jenkins after his release from an area hospital and charged him with vehicular homicide in the death of 32-year-old Heaven Joy Chumos. Chumos and two other women were in Jenkins’ car when it crashed into a bridge on September 21. Jenkins is charged with two counts of serious injury by vehicle as the other two women from Des Moines remain in the hospital in critical condition. The crash was so severe that rescue workers had to cut the car apart to get everyone out. Jenkins was behind the wheel of the fatal single car accident is now charged with vehicular homicide. Thirty-seven-year-old Metrick Jenkins was arrested charged with one count of vehicular homicide, two counts of serious injury by vehicle and first offense OWI.
Man indicted in fatal accident in Phoenix
Authorities say a suspect has been indicted on manslaughter and other charges in the fatal hit-and-run of a wheelchair-bound man earlier this month in Phoenix [AZ]. Phoenix police say 27-year-old Brandon Lee was driving a car that allegedly struck and killed Christopher Emigh on Sept. 19 as he was crossing a central Phoenix street. Police say Lee drove off and parked his vehicle at his mother’s home but officers spotted him and made the arrest. A Maricopa County grand jury last Friday indicted Lee on charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal injury accident and aggravated DUI.
Oscar winner gets jail time for fatal crash
Screenwriter, director and producer Roger Avary, 44, was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail and five years’ probation for drunken driving and causing an Ojai [CA] accident that took the life of an Italian citizen who was visiting Avary and his wife… Sheriff’s officials said Avary was driving a car that slid into a pole about 12:30 a.m. Jan. 13, 2008, fatally injuring passenger Andreas Zini, 34. Avary’s wife, Gretchen Avary, 42, was ejected from the car and injured. In August, Avary pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and to drunken driving and causing an accident. The sentencing was attended by Zini’s widow, Maria Giulia Pavesi-Zini, and his parents, Rina and Sergio Zini, who live in Modena, Italy. Avary’s friends and family were also in the courtroom. During the hearing, the judge learned that Avary had reached a $4.1 million settlement with the victim’s family.
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