DUI Category Archives — Page 14 of 41 — Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog Published by Los Angeles & Southern California Criminal & DUI Defense Attorney — Medical Marijuana Defense Attorney Michael Kraut

Published on: November 2, 2015

Prosecutor Avoids Jail Time For Second DUI

If a government prosecutor pleaded guilty to a charge of DUI in Los Angeles—for the second time in less than two years—would that prosecutor go to jail? Would someone who wasn’t as well connected end up behind bars? While there’s no way to tell what might happen in Los Angeles, in San Diego County, Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Ocain has avoided jail time in her second DUI case.

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Ocain, age 39, had pled guilty early in October to a misdemeanor charge of DUI and hit-and-run. Police arrested her in August after she crashed into a cemetery wall and then ran from the scene on foot.

Ocain, who broke her arm during her encounter with the wall, had a blood alcohol content of 0.30%, according to a test taken about an hour after her arrest. That’s nearly four times the legal limit, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152 of 0.08%. But the BAC number San Diego County used during her arraignment in August was 0.20%. In her previous arrest the year before, her BAC was 0.28%. (For reference, a BAC of 0.40% is often fatal.)

Published on: October 30, 2015

So Your Son Got a Los Angeles DUI Charge…

by Michael Kraut

Whether your 16-year-old son disobeyed your explicit instructions and tooled wildly around Sunset Blvd. with his friends, or your college-age-son at UCLA or USC picked up a Los Angeles DUI charge after a big football tailgate, you’re equal parts enraged, sad, confused, and desperate.

Hopefully, your son didn’t hurt anyone (or hurt himself) or rack up additional charges, such as hit and run or extreme DUI (very high blood alcohol concentration levels).

But in any case, you face a suite of challenges:

First, you need to manage your internal emotions and reactions to the situation and figure out how to be constructive.

Second, you want to be a good father (or mother) to your son and help set him straight, if he did do something wrong or out of step.

Finally, you want to help your son get effective help legally to avoid unfair trouble.

First, in terms of dealing with your own emotions and actions, strive to access compassion. Before judging or yelling, take time to understand the facts. What exactly happened? Why? With whom? Etc. Appreciate that you are limited in terms of what you can control about this situation: he is old enough to drive and make his own decisions. In addition to being empathetic, work with him (and an experienced DUI attorney) to develop a strategy.

Recognize your own needs that have been left unmet by the situation, and take care of them. For instance, maybe you feel a loss of control or fear for your son’s safety. How can you make yourself feel better about these issues?

Engage him honestly. Your goal isn’t to litigate the past as a parent but rather to figure out what can be done going forward. If your relationship has been challenging, ask someone else to help you both work through this.

Finally, appreciate that time may be of the essence. If strategic action is not taken, your son can lose his license for a long time, go to jail, face huge fines and fees, and beyond. Rather than try to figure out this system on your own, call Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, an experienced former prosecutor and highly qualified Los Angeles DUI defense attorney.

Published on: October 28, 2015

Lessons about Los Angeles DUI Law from Kerfuffle Over the U.S. Dietary Guidelines

by Michael Kraut

If police recently stopped you on Fairfax or La Brea for speeding and driving under the influence in Los Angeles, odds are that your plate is pretty full. You are probably not thinking too much about global or national issues. Rather, your focus (understandably) is on what you can do to protect your license, stay out of jail, avoid paying massive fines and fees, and avoiding seeing huge spikes on your driver’s insurance premiums.

However, you might find it resourceful to take a step back and consider your DUI situation in a broader context.

Most law enforcement agencies, judges, attorneys and public health and safety advocates hold certain fundamental beliefs about the dangers of DUI as well as what should be done to stop this problem. Some sound science supports these policy positions. But the nature of the discussion about DUI prevention, treatment and punishment is ultimately fluid, even if laws like California Vehicle Code Section 23152 and 23153 don’t radically shift over time.

As our understanding of the science of DUI evolves, our laws, institutions and even culture should follow. But would they? Would solid evidence that we got certain “facts” about DUI change our minds?

As a parallel case study, consider the current battle right now being waged in Washington D.C. over the future of the United States Dietary Guidelines. Every 5 years since 1980, the government has issued guidelines for what Americans should eat to be healthy and fit. This year’s process has been anything but smooth, leading to over 29,000 comments on the USDA’s feedback page and sparking a major public battle over the science of nutrition.

Many high level politicians, scientists and even former members of the DGA Committee have argued that the process has gotten out of hand – that our guidelines are not based on sound evidence and that bias and industry interests are setting the agenda. Notably, the British Medical Journal – one of the most reputable medical journals in the world – issued a scathing analysis of the Dietary Guidelines Committee’s report – a report that typically forms the basis of policy.

While we can’t tell what’s going to happen with respect to this year’s guidelines, there’s a big (if subtle) lesson here for DUI defendants. Just because an authority determines that XYZ is a “scientific fact” doesn’t mean that that person (or institution) is right. Subsequent science could come along to force refinement or even rejection of that initial position.

And that’s all a roundabout way of explaining why it is so important for you, as a defendant, to work with an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers.

Published on: October 26, 2015

DUI Drivers Pose Danger to Dwellings: Crashing into Houses Not a Smart Move

by Michael Kraut

Vehicles driven by motorists suspected of Los Angeles DUI often end up in unseemly places — smashed against light posts or walls or discarded, broken in the wrong traffic lane. But such drivers sometimes come to a halt only when they run up against something much bigger… like the side of a house!

Let’s take a look at recent examples.

In the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, a 21-year-old woman hit a home on Hintz Road around 3:30 in the morning of Saturday, October 10th. Police officers, who charged the driver with DUI, said the accident caused significant damage to the home. They even had to call in building inspectors to determine whether or not the house would collapse when the vehicle was removed. Fortunately, the car/home collision didn’t harm the three people in the building. The driver suffered only minor injuries.

A 20-year-old in Douglas County, Colorado, meanwhile, had allegedly been racing on his street, when he hit a pine tree and flew into the home of a neighbor. Gunner Bolstad had been carrying two passengers, when his car crashed through the bedroom window of 70-year-old Cliff Turner. The grandfather, thrown from his bed, suffered only slight injuries. His visiting 13-year-old grandson, also sleeping in the room, wasn’t hurt but did get a fright when the crash impact launched his bed across the room. Police arrested Bolstad on charges of DUI, reckless driving, careless driving resulting in injury, four counts of reckless endangerment and third-degree assault.

Lastly, Jason Crooks didn’t actually hit a home in Moorhead, North Dakota, but he allegedly caused an accident that resulted in a vehicle/house collision. Crooks, later charged with DUI, had reportedly been speeding when he hit another car making a U-turn. That driver got out of her car but forgot to put it in park; it continued to move until it hit the home and its gas meter. No one was hurt, but the utility company had to rush to the scene to repair the gas leak.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.

Published on: October 21, 2015

Murder Charges Likely for DUI Driver Accused of Killing His Wife

by Michael Kraut

While motorists arrested for DUI in Los Angeles frequently cause serious injuries to other drivers or pedestrians, they rarely do so with an intention to inflict harm. But a man driving under the influence in Las Vegas not only hit a close family member with his car—on purpose—but he also injured a man standing in his own home.

No one knows what Jesus Mendoza Cabezas and his wife Gabriela Marin de Mendoza were arguing about on the evening of Monday, October 5th. But after the argument, Cabezas ended up behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Avalanche and de Mendoza headed across a crosswalk on the road. While driving away, Cabezas allegedly suddenly made a U-turn, gunned the engine, mowed down his spouse and then plowed into a fence of a nearby home. Her body flew into the yard of the home owned by Zach Hollis.

But that didn’t stop Cabezas, and his vehicle kept going, crashing into Hollis’ home. The Avalanche missed the homeowner by only a foot. Hollis did suffer back injuries and required hospitalization.

Cabezas, meanwhile, allegedly ran from the scene, but witnesses to the accident didn’t let him slip away. They brought him back to the scene and held him until police arrived. Emergency workers pronounced de Mendoza dead at the scene, but observers said Cabezas showed no sign of emotion at that pronouncement.

The couple’s six children, left without a mother, will likely have to do without their father for many years as well. Police charged Cabezas with DUI, driving without a license and failing to maintain his traffic lane; he will also have to answer an outstanding warrant for DUI and other traffic violations. Press reports said police also expect to charge him with murder with a deadly weapon.

Do you need help defending against a drug or DUI charge? Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is a trustworthy, highly qualified former prosecutor. Call a Los Angeles DUI attorney today to strategize for your defense seriously.

Published on: October 19, 2015

Driver Broadcasts Her DUI Live on Periscope: Not a Good Idea

by Michael Kraut

People arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles don’t always display the best judgment. But if you want proof that excessive alcohol consumption can cause you to do dumb things, consider this story from Lakeland, Florida, where a woman practically begged to be arrested.

According to WMAZ Channel 13—and media outlets across the country—Jennifer Beall was driving her 2015 Toyota Corolla on Saturday, October 10th, when she decided to broadcast her trip to the world via Periscope, a live streaming app. The only problem was that Beall, age 23, was apparently intoxicated and not afraid to share that information. In the raw video footage, you can hear her say repeatedly that she is “driving drunk.”

Many people watching the broadcast reportedly texted Beall and begged her to stop driving before she killed herself or someone else. Some also alerted the Lakeland Police Department via 911. But the police had a problem, because department regulations don’t allow them to download apps like Periscope; they had no way of watching the streaming video to determine where Beall was driving.

Finally, with the assistance of some 911 callers and a younger officer’s personal computer, police tracked Beall using landmarks they could see in the video. They found her on Carpenters Way in Lakeland. Just as officers prepared to pull her over, Beall hit a curb and flattened the tire on her Toyota.

The police reported that Beall smelled like alcohol, behaved in a disoriented fashion and exhibited bloodshot and glassy eyes. She allegedly failed sobriety tests and refused to take a breathalyzer test, so officers arrested her on DUI charges and took her to the Polk County Jail.

A spokesman for the Lakeland Police Department said he had never seen a case like this before in his 30 years of law enforcement.

Do you need help defending against a serious charge? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers immediately.

Published on: October 14, 2015

Meth DUI Changes Cyclist’s Life

by Michael Kraut

Innocent bystanders often suffer from the results of a Los Angeles DUI. They may lose their lives or receive an injury from which they never fully recover.

Juan Carlos Vinolo and a group of bicycle enthusiasts were enjoying a ride on Fiesta Island in San Diego on August 12, 2014. Without warning, 50-year-old Theresa Owens, traveling in the wrong direction on the one-way road, slammed into them. Owens admitted she had been using methamphetamines, claiming that she took them to ease her back pain.

The woman injured ten cyclists, but Vinolo, who was the lead rider, took the worst hit. He is now paralyzed from the chest down.
Owens blamed the crash on her boyfriend; she said she had caught sight of him in a vehicle with another woman, and she had been driving on the road the wrong way to cut the vehicle off and confront him.

At Owens’ trial, her attorney claimed that the amount of meth in her system wasn’t enough to impair her driving. He also said that there were no signs saying the road was one way and that bushes along the road blocked her view of traffic around the curve.
According to CBS8.com, uninjured cyclists who got Owens out of the car said that she was behaving erratically and screaming after the crash. Police officers did not give her a sobriety test at the accident scene, but they took her to the hospital because she claimed to have medical issues. While she was there, a nurse trying to inset a catheter found a bag of meth in Owens’ vagina.
Owens pleaded not guilty to charges of felony driving under the influence causing bodily harm and (thanks to the hospital incident) possession of a controlled substance. In early October 2015, however, a jury convicted her on all the charges. She could go to prison for up to 18 years.

Do you need assistance constructing an appropriate response to a DUI charge? Look to the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut for insight and peace of mind. Mr. Kraut is an experience Los Angeles DUI attorney with many relevant connections in the local legal community.

Published on: October 12, 2015

Law Enforcement DUIs – 13 Year Veteran Busted in Maryland; Other Cop Grins in Mug Shot

by Michael Kraut

While many DUI arrests get brief mention in the media, a police officer charged with a DUI in Los Angeles can make national headlines. But most law enforcement officers in this uncomfortable position try to keep a low profile. They certainly wouldn’t top off their arrest with a booking photo that shows them with a big grin.

A DeSoto county constable should probably have displayed fewer teeth when police in Horn Lake, Mississippi, took his picture for their records. They stopped Christopher Plumlee, one of five elected constables in DeSoto County, for speeding and later charged him with DUI as well. Plumlee’s booking photo—which shows him with a wide, toothy grin and a slightly manic look in his eyes—has gone viral and drawn a great deal of criticism from county residents.

Photos also played a part in the arrest of Corey Britton, a corporal with the Howard County, Maryland, police department. On the evening of Wednesday, October 6, Britton collided with a car but allegedly took off instead of stopping at the accident scene. The other driver involved in the crash had a camera, however, and managed to snap photos of the damage to both cars and a picture of Britton’s license plate before he fled the scene. Maryland State Police used that information to help track Britton down.
When they finally caught up with Britton, they arrested him for failing to remain at the scene of an accident, driving under the influence, driving under the influence while transporting a minor, failure to control speed to avoid an accident and operating in a negligent manner.

Howard County police officers placed Britton, a 13-year veteran of the force, on administrative leave pending the results of the State Police investigation and their own internal investigation.

Locating a seasoned and qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer is a critical part of the process of reclaiming your life, your time and your peace of mind. Call ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for a free consultation right now.

Published on: October 7, 2015

How Many School Kids Are at Risk from DUI Bus Drivers?

by Michael Kraut

Many school districts across the country face a frustrating shortage of qualified bus drivers. Some people don’t want the job because they can’t imagine spending a few hours every day with noisy grade schoolers and/or middle or high schoolers with an attitude. Others have incidents on their driving records—like a DUI in Los Angeles—that make them ineligible for such positions.
One driver in Indianapolis, Indiana, and another in Orange Beach, Alabama, aren’t likely to be getting behind the wheel of a school bus again—not after their high-profile arrests for DUI.

The bus driver in Orange Beach allegedly contributed to his own downfall. Patrick Glossop, who worked for Baldwin County Schools, hit a sign while dropping off students on Ono Island. Glossop, who had four students left on the bus, told the Ono Island private security guard what happened. The security guard called police, who eventually charged Glossop with DUI and four counts of child endangerment (one for each student).

Glossop’s blood alcohol wasn’t at the legal limit for most DUI arrests, which is 0.08; his reportedly tested 0.07. But that number is far above the BAC limit for commercial drivers, which is 0.02.

Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, reports say that Janet Kay Shaw took out utility pole wires, causing a power outage, and drove on the edge of the road while picking up students for their morning trip to school. Several of the 21 kids on the bus called their parents, who alerted school authorities. They waited for Shaw when she pulled in with her load of students and took her off the bus right away.

Police arrived on the scene and found Shaw had a stash of drugs on the bus. They charged her with 21 counts of endangering a minor while operating while intoxicated, possession of a controlled substance and leaving the scene of a crash.

Respond strategically to your arrest and charges by calling a former Senior Deputy D.A. and highly successful Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a complimentary consultation.

Published on: October 5, 2015

Daughter’s Plea Leads to Mom’s DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

What would you do if someone you cared for insisted on getting behind the wheel after a few too many drinks? Would you call the police and risk their arrest for a DUI in Los Angeles? Would you ignore the situation and simply hope that no one would get hurt?
A 28-year-old woman in Senoi, Georgia, faced that situation in September. In a move that the local police chief called “an act of courage,” the woman got in touch with police and asked for help.

According to the story on the Fox5 Atlanta website, Donna Dodgen was driving her daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter when the trio stopped at a local convenience store. The daughter went in to the store and asked the clerk to call police because her mother had been drinking and wasn’t in any condition to drive. (The daughter couldn’t drive herself, because she had previously been in a car accident in which she suffered a head injury.) She told the clerk she was worried about her daughter’s safety and her own. (It’s not clear why she and her daughter didn’t simply get out of the car and refuse to go any further.)

A police officer watched Dodgen leave the parking lot and sit at a green light for 30 seconds without moving. Before too long, he caught up with Dodgen and asked for her driver’s license. Dodgen allegedly kept trying to give him her credit card instead.
Then the officer gave Dodgen a sobriety test, which she reportedly failed. She also smelled of alcohol, according to police. They charged her with DUI, endangering a child under age 14, weaving on the roadway and driving under the minimum speed.

The daughter (who remained unidentified in the news story) told police that her mother had been driving erratically before the convenience store stop, unable to remain in the her lane and attracting the ire of drivers, who honked to signal their displeasure.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.