San Diego DUI Lawyers Blog
This past week, there were many driving under the influence stories in San Diego. Here are the ones that made our blog…
First, San Diego Police conducted a drunk driving checkpoint in the East Village of downtown San Diego on June 9th, 2012. As a result, 16 people were arrested for driving under the influence.
You can expect with the summer upon us, local law enforcement agencies will be out in full force looking for drunk drivers. Police departments are given grants called “DUI Awareness and Enforcement Grants” by the Office of Traffic Safety in order to conduct such DUI checkpoints and saturated patrols.
In order to make sure you are not a statistic, plan ahead before heading out to your summertime party. Designate a sober driver, have a local taxi company’s phone number stored in your phone and use it, call a sober friend or relative for a ride, use public transportation, or make arrangements to stay the night at the party location.
Second, a Camp Pendleton Marine, 25-year-old Jared Hale, was charged with three counts of Vehicular manslaughter after he drove his vehicle into a tree in Dana Point on February 14th, killing three other Camp Pendleton Marines that were also in the car. His blood alcohol content (BAC) was measured at .16, as reported by cbs8.com.
Third, an Ocean Beach pedestrian’s death resulted in a guilty plea of hit and run causing death and being in possession of alcohol by a minor by a Rancho Penasquitos 19-year-old, Nikolette Gallo, on June 11th, according to fox5sandiego.com.
Gallo admitted she was driving on eastbound interstate 8 in Ocean Beach after drinking alcohol on March 11th. She thought she hit a couch, but instead she hit and killed Sho Funai, a 23-year-old UCSD graduate student. The sentencing will be held on July 26th, 2012.
Fourth, a drunk driving crash in Kensington last August injured a 4-year-old passenger. On June 12th, Albert Pruitt plead guilty to felony DUI with injury and child endangerment and will be sentence on August 7th, according to 10news.com. His BAC was measured at a .15 and .16 four hours after the crash. Pruitt was on DUI probation at the time of this incident and he is facing five to seven years in prison when he is sentenced.
And lastly, the California State Senate approved AB-2127, a bill that is known as “Roger’s Law” for Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), as reported by latimes.com. This bill would make it easier for some people serving in the county jail, including those convicted of drunk driving, to qualify for programs other than work release in lieu of serving out a term in jail. The measure will have to go back to the Assembly for approval on the amendments.
Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, MADD, would like to see DUI cases excluded from this bill. Mary Klotzbach, chairwoman of the MADD California Public Policy Committee, told latimes.com, “AB 2127 decriminalizes drunk driving in California and undermines the deterrence message that incarceration provides to potential drunk drivers. As a result, this legislation compromises public safety on California roadways.”
However, with the current overcrowding situation in the California state prisons, which has forced state officials to downsize their populations by bringing massive amounts of prisoners to local jails, there is simply no room for low-level offenders in the jail and prison system. This bill should pass. Those convicted will still be punished, just not with such a long term incarceration.
If you have questions about a drunk driving case, contact an exclusively, DUI defense attorney in your area.
If you have been charged with a DUI, you deserve to have a DUI defense attorney who exclusively deals with drunk driving matters in your corner. The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman works to minimize the negative consequences of a DUI arrest. Call 619-260-1122 today or fill out the “Contact Us” form on this page for a free telephone consultation.