DUI Penalties

El Cajon Sting Nabs Drivers With Suspended Licenses Due To DUI

March 3, 2011 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

La Mesa Police conducted a sting operation at the El Cajon Courthouse looking for those driving with a suspended license due to drunk driving, according to lamesa.patch.com.

Once convicted of driving under the influence, the court usually places the person on probation, their license is suspended, and they are ordered to attend a meeting that is hosted by MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The three hour sting was at the courthouse where MADD panel meetings take place.

13 drivers out of 171 that were contacted were alleged to be driving on a suspended or revoked license. They were issued a citation, their cars impounded, and a hold was placed on the vehicles.

Under Vehicle Code Section 14601.2, if you are convicted of driving with a suspended or revoked license due to a DUI, the penalty for a first offense is a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail and a fine of $300 – $1000. The penalty for a second offense within five years is a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail and a fine of $500 – $2000.

These stings are conducted approximated four times a year. They are funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Temecula Alleged Drunk Driving Crash Kills Daughter, Mother Had 4 Prior DUI’s in San Diego

February 1, 2011 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

San Marcos’ former resident, Karen Faye Honeycutt, 41, was charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, drunk driving causing great bodily injury, and other crimes in connection with a crash in Temecula that killed her nine year old daughter and injured two of her sons on January 21st, 2011, according to the North County Times.

Honeycutt’s license was suspended for a previous DUI conviction at the time of this incident. She had two previous convictions for driving on a suspended license in the past two years, as reported by 10news.com.

A sentencing enhancement was added for having prior driving under the influence (DUI) convictions in San Diego County. It is alleged that she had four convictions since 1994; however, according to Vehicle Code Section 23540, the prior DUI offenses must be within ten years of this offense to be counted as a prior for purposes of sentencing. Punishment is enhanced with every prior driving under the influence charge within that ten year period.

Honeycutt is facing 22 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.

Second Drunk Driving Conviction Lands Motley Crue Singer In Jail

January 26, 2011 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

After pleading guilty to his second driving under the influence (DUI) charge, Vince Neil, the singer of the rock band Motley Crue, will serve two weeks in jail plus two weeks of house arrest, according to news.yahoo.com.

Neil plead guilty to the misdeamenor DUI charge, stemming from an incident on June 27, 2010. His sentence will commence on February 15th, 2011, in Las Vegas. vince.neil.jpg Neil’s first DUI conviction was In 1984, when he plead guilty to driving under the influence and manslaughter after crashing in Redondo Beach, California, killing his passenger. For that DUI, Neil served twenty days in jail and paid $2.5 million in restitution to the victims.

The defense lawyer on the case commented that Neil faced six months in jail for this second DUI in Nevada. However, if Neil picked up the second misdemeanor DUI in California and that second conviction was within ten years of a first conviction in any state, he would have been exposed to one year in the county jail (California Vehicle Code Section 23540).

Online Sources:

Motley Crue Singer Gets 2 Week Jail Sentence: news.yahoo.com
Motley Crue’s Vince Neil To Serve Two-Week Jail Sentence: mtv.com

Orange County Drunk Driver Sentenced For Killing Major League Baseball Pitcher & Two Others

January 13, 2011 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

An Orange County accident that resulted in the death of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher, Nick Adenhart, and two others, has been concluded, according to cnn.com. The driver of the vehicle, Andrew Thomas Gallo, 23, was found guilty of three felony counts of murder, felony drunk driving, and two other felonies in September 2010. On December 22, 2010, Gallo was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 51 years to life in prison.

Gallo’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .19 on April 9, 2009, as he was driving 65 mph in a 35 mph zone. He drove through a red light, hitting the car containing the victims just hours after Adenhart pitched.

Gallo was on probation with a suspended license for a previous DUI in San Bernadino at the time of the crash.

Santee Drunk Driving Crash Kills San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy, Defendant Sentenced

January 11, 2011 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

A San Diego resident, Jose Pedro Lopez Jasso, 23, was sentenced on January 7th, 2011, for the DUI accident that caused the death of San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Collier on February 28, 2010, according to 10news.com. Lopez was seen going the wrong way on westbound Route 52 at 3:15 a.m. and Deputy Collier gave chase. The deputy drove in the auxiliary lanes to avoid oncoming traffic but hit an abutment between Santo Road and Mast Boulevard. He was ejected from the vehicle and died at the hospital.

Mr. Lopez plead guilty to gross manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, driving with measurable blood-alcohol causing injury, manufacturing a weapon while in jail, and driving the wrong way on a divided highway in October 2010.

Santee.patch.com reported that Lopez’s blood-alcohol content was measured at .11 percent and he tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana two hours after the crash. Lopez faced eleven years and eight months, but instead was sentenced to seven years and eight months in state prison.

La Mesa DUI Crash Results in the Death of a Pedestrian

January 3, 2011 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department announced a pedestrian was killed in a suspected DUI crash just after 1:00am on New Year’s. This is San Diego County’s second fatal DUI collision this holiday season. The first occurred on December 18th, 2010, in El Cajon.

The DUI incident happened on Murray Drive in La Mesa, according to 10news.com. The pedestrian was identified as Kelly McPherson of Mission Valley. The driver of the Ford Mustang was identified as Dana Lohner of La Mesa, a fourth grade teacher at Freese Elementary School. She was released after posting $100,000 bail and is due in court on January 10th, 2011. Pending the outcome of the La Mesa Police Department’s investigation, Ms. Lohner may also be charged with vehicular manslaughter.

There are two possible vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated charges: Gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter. [Penal Code Section 191.5(a) and (b) respectively.]

San Diego Under Age Youth Sentenced for DUI Injury Accident

November 30, 2010 | The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman

A San Diego teenager was sentenced after he admitted to driving under the influence and causing an injury accident. (This is a follow-up to the story originally posted on November 17th.)

According to the Union Tribune, the seventeen year old was sentenced to the maximum penalty allowed under state law, 480 days in custody in the San Diego County’s Youthful Offender Unit. Once released, the juvenile will be placed on probation.

This teen’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .21. Under California Vehicle Code (VC) Section 23136, “[I]t is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years who has a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test, to drive a vehicle.”

VC Section 23136 does not preclude prosecution under California Vehicle Code Section 23153, which makes it “unlawful for any person, while under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.”