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SFGate reports there were 1,688 arrests across California this past weekend, compared with 1,497 last year. In the nine- county Bay Area, the CHP arrested 275 DUI suspects, compared with 231 last year. DailyReviewOnline.com reports that Alameda County's DUI arrests dropped, but a close reading of the article reveals that the only drop mentioned is the decrease in arrests when compared to the Memorial Day weekend.
The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader reported yesterday that singer Marty Stuart began serving his DUI sentence of 48 hours in jail. Among Stuart's hits was the classic, "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'."
Jack Kulp, the County Managing Director of Maui, resigned his position last Friday following a DUI arrest at a sobriety checkpoint, according to a report in the Honolulu Advisor. The County Managing Director is the county's top non-elected official. Kulp was arrested in December and allegedly had a BAC of .14. He is challenging the constitutionality of the roadblock where he was stopped. The Advisor reports that Kulp was convicted of DUI in Nevada in 2002.
According to an article in the Florida Times-Union today, a husband and wife each blamed the other for an allegedly DUI-related accident last December that left a young mother dead and her husband in a coma.
The victims, Joe and Krystal Duss, were driving their two twin boys along Beach Boulevard in Jackonsonville, Florida when a Nissan driven by either Larry or Dianeshia Johnson slid into their van. Krystal Duss was killed and Joe Duss suffered injuries resulting in a nine day coma, but fortunately, the twin boys were not injured.
After much speculation and months of investigation, authorities now believe Dianeshia Johnson was behind the wheel that night. Lab tests show that "an impression on the sole of her left shoe matched the design and measurements of the Nissan's brake pedal..." Furthermore, a drop of blood taken from the passenger side airbag was tested and found to belong to Larry Johnson. A blood test taken at the hospital following the accident determined Dianeshia's blood alcohol level to be at 0.152%. Ms. Johnson has been charged with drunken driving manslaughter.
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Times-Leader reports that Robert Thomas was arrested for an alleged DUI on June 2 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Thomas allegedly drove the wrong way on a one-way street, hitting five parked cars before abandoning his Dodge Durango in the middle of the street. He was apprehended a short time later. His alleged BAC was 0.206.
According to the report, Thomas had been charged a month earlier with underage drinking, public drunkenness and receiving stolen property.
The Denver Post reports the preliminary statistics for DUI arrests over the July 4th weekend show what is perhaps a dramatic drop. With 33 of 40 agencies reporting thus far, 375 people were arrested over the holiday weekend, compared to 545 people arrested in 1999, the last time the 4th fell on a Sunday.
It is too early to conclude much from the numbers, though, as the report did not disclose which agencies had yet to report their arrests.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was in court again yesterday in Nashville, where his attorney argued a motion to exclude the breath test evidence in the case. According to reports from ESPN and an AP report carried in the South Mississippi Sun-Herald, Judge Cheryl Blackburn will rule on the motion as soon as her docket permits.
McNair was arrested in May of last year by Officer Shawn Taylor in downtown Nashville. Taylor was later suspended for 15 days for violating department procedure in arresting McNair and for taking arrest videos home with him.
NY Post reports Noreen Michelson was busted for DWI after leaving a party hosted by friend William Shepard. Michelson called Shepard for a ride home from jail, and when he arrived, police arrested him for DWI as well.
The Desert Sun reported today that one person was killed in traffic collisions "involving drunken driving," over the July 4th holiday, the same number as last year. The paper does not define what the statistics mean by "involving drunken driving."
DUI arrests, on the other hand, rose statewide from 1,497 last year to 1,552 this year.
Overall, 27 people were killed on California roadways, down from 34 last year, according to CHP who is sourced in the article. According to CHP, 13 of the statewide fatalities were not wearing seatbelts.
Scott Weiland, the lead singer for the rock group Velvet Revolver, pleaded NC last Friday in Los Angeles, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times and a piece on billboard.com.
NY Post reports Noreen Michelson was busted for DWI after leaving a party hosted by friend William Shepard. Michelson called Shepard for a ride home from jail, and when he arrived, police arrested him for DWI as well.
Officers arrested Lauren Scott in Santa Cruz yesterday after he "sideswiped two cars near Ocean and Water streets, turned into a parking lot on the corner, downed a tree and smashed into the back wall of Kragen Auto Parts." Today's report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel has police confirming Scott's story that his brakes were bad, but he was arrested for DUI/drugs anyway.
The El Paso Times reported that the city police department received a $25,000 grant from the Texas DOT to staff extra patrols over the period from June 28 through July 11, 2004. The grant will put an extra 100 officers on patrol during those two weeks.
Is there really an increased need for DWI enforcement a week before and a week after the holiday? If there are any statistics to justify this use of taxpayer money, I'd appreciate someone posting it.
AP reports that West Babylon mother Laura Nardello was charged with DUI/drugs after her 2004 Isuzu struck the rear of a bus that had stopped to pick up passengers. Police were quoted as saying Nardello was incoherent and unable to stand by herself. Because there were two 8-yr-olds in the car with her, Nardello was also charged with child endangerment.
We previously reported that Jim McMahon, the quarterback of the 1985 superbowl champion Chicago Bears, was sentenced to one year's probation for his 2003 DUI, will lose his driver's license for six months, do 50 hours' community service and pay an $850 fine. At the time, McMahon's BAC was not released.
According to a CourtTV report yesterday, McMahon's BAC was allegedly 0.258% and 0.261% on the two tests performed.
The Billings Gazette reported yesterday that Keith Owen Smith, 33, was charged with felony and misdemeanor DUI and endangerment after he led police on a high-speed chase and twice drove directly toward a police car. Smith's Pontiac Firebird swerved at the last minute before colliding with the patrol car. Smith was also charged with driving without insurance, driving on a suspended license and having altered license plates.
There is no mention in the report of any alcohol use, field sobriety tests, BAC or signs of intoxication.
You may recall the June 21 chain reaction crash in northeastern Ohio that killed six people, including four children. Police reports alleged that Brian J. Woody crossed the center line and clipped the side of an oncoming tractor-trailer, which then collided with an oncoming Toyota Corolla. Woody, pictured, admitted to drinking two beers earlier that day. Police took a blood sample from him on the night of his arrest.
Woody got some good news yesterday (also reported here) when his blood test results came back, showing his blood alcohol level to be 0.025%, well below Ohio's legal limit of 0.08%. Prosecutors may still charge him with impaired driving, and the results of blood test for drugs has not yet been released.
Boyd Knouse, pictured, originally received a prison sentence of 26 to 52 years for the 2002 DUI crash that killed Jeremiah Neidig, 14; John Heffelfinger, 19; Harry Lyter, 17; Shane Keller, 8; Nicole Waters, 22; and Richard Smith, 18. The sentence was harsher than the 18 year minimum state law required. At the time of that sentencing the prosecutor said "I do believe the judge is sending a strong message. He got more time than most murderers."
Knouse, who was 20 at the time of the crash, had no criminal record. He appealed the sentence and won a reduction yesterday according to an AP report. A three-judge panel reduced the sentence to 20 to 40 years, finding the lesser sentence would satisfy punishment and rehabilitation purposes.
Knouse's conduct was driving while intoxicated, perhaps for the first time. Does he deserve "more time than most murderers" who deliberately set out to kill people? See my post yesterday for my view on this topic.