Punishment

Published on: August 10, 2015

DUI Teen Does Double Damage to Police Cars

Police officers know that that they may be at risk when they’re called to pursue someone suspected of DUI in Los Angeles. If the driver suddenly takes a turn or doesn’t stop at a DUI checkpoint, their vehicles can suffer damage—and so can they. Last May, for example, a DUI driver injured two Detroit police officers when he smashed his truck into the rear end of their police car. But the damage didn’t end there—the truck also hit two officers who were standing nearby.

But not many DUI drivers hit two separate police cars—at different sites—in the same evening.

A 17-year old girl in Boise, Idaho, managed to do it. She first rear-ended a white Honda at Cole and West Ustick Roads; the Honda, pushed forward, then rear-ended a patrol vehicle driven by a deputy from the Ada County Sheriff’s Department.
Instead of stopping when the deputy got out of his car, the teen drove off, hitting several garbage cans on a sidewalk along the way. She eventually ran a red light on Veteran’s Memorial Parkway and slammed into a Boise Police Department vehicle. The officer suffered a head and a leg injury (fortunately not too serious).

When other officers arrived at the scene they noticed the young woman appeared to be intoxicated. So after a quick stop at the hospital to ensure she wasn’t injured badly, and to take a sample of her blood to check the blood alcohol content, they took her to ADA County Juvenile Detention Center.

The teen faces charges of felony aggravated DUI and three misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of an accident. Since she is under the age of 21 she’ll automatically lose her license for at least 60 days if her BAC registered .02 or higher.

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: August 5, 2015

Alleged DUI Driver’s Excuse Is All Wet, Say Local Authorities

by Michael Kraut

Drivers charged with a Los Angeles DUI often end up crashing into other vehicles (parked or moving). They may occasionally hit a storefront, a light post, a mailbox, or a home. But there aren’t many reports of people driving under the influence going off the road and driving into the Los Angeles River or some other body of water.

But police in Kennewick, Washington, can now say they’ve had such a driver.

On Wednesday, July 29th, around 3 p.m., emergency workers in that city received a 911 call saying that a car was in the river at the East Boat Launch at Columbia. NBC KNDU said that the caller reported that he and his mother had been on a nearby bridge when they saw the car slipping into the water. The witnesses ran to the scene, where the woman walked into the water and yanked open a rear door to attempt a rescue. But the car was empty.

That’s because the driver, identified only as a man in his late 20s, had apparently made it out of the car and run up a hill—dripping wet—until he reached a gas station and called for help. The Columbia Basin Drive Rescue, the Kennewick Police Department and fire crews all responded to the summons.

When police caught up with the driver, he insisted that he had been trying to take a photo of the river and—probably because he wasn’t paying close attention—he hit the car’s accelerator instead of the brake. That plunged him—and the rental car he was driving–into the water.

While police may have believed that story, they obviously thought there were other factors at play. They charged the driver with DUI.

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: June 8, 2015

New Hampshire DUI Defendants Could Go Free

by Michael Kraut

Anyone arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles has probably wished that the charges against them would just disappear. That just might happen in the case of several drivers who were picked up for DUI in New Hampshire.

Television station WMUR 9, located in Manchester, reports that attorney John Durkin is taking the state to court to get information about police officers who may not have passed the breathalyzer certification test. New Hampshire state law requires that all officers get recertified each year.

If it turns out the officers flunked the certification test, the DUI arrests that they made because of breathalyzer results, as well as the convictions that prosecutors won using those results, may all be invalidated.

The problem apparently stems from a glitch in the computer testing program that the state uses. More than 100 officers failed the test, but the program indicated that they had passed. The systemic issues could go all the way back to 2013, which could affect a lot of drivers charged with DUI during that stretch of time.

According to seacoastonline.com, the issue came to light when Durkin heard rumors about the certification problem. He filed a Freedom of Information request with the New Hampshire Department of Safety, asking that the department send him the list of officers incorrectly certified.

The Department of Public Safety says that it responded to Durkin within the required five days, telling him that it would take several weeks for them to comply with his request. At that time, Durkin filed his lawsuit, saying that time frame wasn’t good enough for people arrested for DUI by uncertified officers.

Durkin says he plans to share the information about the uncertified officers with other attorneys. Hopefully, these legal actions will help create a more open, clear system and challenge other law enforcement agencies across the U.S. (and right here in Southern California) to more effectively and meticulously certify the machines they use when testing people suspected for driving DUI.

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: June 3, 2015

Maybe This DUI Arrest Will Make a Good Play

by Michael Kraut

Although California sees more than its fair share of celebrities arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, the latest high-profile case actually took place in the Land of Enchantment. (That’s New Mexico, in case you’re not up on state nicknames).

Actor/playwright Sam Shepard had been out to dinner on Monday, May 25th, and he was attempting to drive home when a concerned security guard spotted him and called the cops. It seems that Shepard was driving erratically, trying to get his blue Toyota Tacoma moving out of a parking lot without releasing the emergency brake.

When the police caught up with Shepard, they found he had bloodshot eyes and smelled like alcohol. Although Shepard insisted he had only had two tequilas to drink, he allegedly didn’t do well on the field sobriety test. He also refused to take a breathalyzer test, which could result in him losing his license for a year if he’s convicted. Shepard spent the night in jail and the next day pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated DUI.

This isn’t Shepard’s first run-in with the law over drinking and driving. In 2009, Illinois cops picked him up for speeding and DUI driving. After pleading guilty in that case, he received a sentence of 24 months’ probation and 100 hours of community service.
Shepard won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Chuck Yeager in the 1983 movie The Right Stuff. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. Maybe he’ll find some dramatic inspiration—writing or acting–in his latest run-in with the law.

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: June 1, 2015

GPS Leads DUI Drivers Where They Didn’t Want to Go

by Michael Kraut

GPS is usually a pretty handy tool for people to have when they’re driving—especially if they’ve imbibed enough alcohol to get them arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles. It’s a lot easier to have a device calling out the directions than to read them on a map when your brain is a little fuzzy.

But there are times when GPS is less than helpful. Just ask Richard Schnee and Ardean Marie Smith about their experience in Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania.

Schnee, age 41, and Smith, age 44, are both out-of-towners who were trying to reach the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Both were driving their own cars, with Schnee following Smith, who had supposedly programmed her GPS with the hotel address.

No one quite knows how Smith ended up leading Schnee to the Upper Dublin police station—and into an area that was restricted to cops only. The officers who challenged them soon realized that there was something more going on than an incorrect GSP route; they smelled alcohol on both drivers. Schnee and Smith failed the field sobriety test and ended up spending some time in the police station—charged with DUI—instead of at the hotel.

Upper Dublin police officers said they didn’t know why the pair had ended up at their station, but they were glad that it was so easy to get the pair of them off the road. One cop tweeted a photo with the caption: “GSP tells two DUI suspects to drive to police sally port. Same GPS tells @Upperdublinpd to lock them up. #OneSmartGPS!”

To respond effectively to your charges, call a qualified Los Angeles DUI lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.

Published on: May 29, 2015

Lawyers Face Disbarment for Setting up DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

Three lawyers apparently thought that they could win some favor with a jury by arranging a DUI arrest for the attorney opposing them. It’s unlikely that any recent case of DUI in Los Angeles has as convoluted a back tale as this one.

It all goes back to 2012-2013, when Todd “MJ Kelli” Schnitt, a conservative radio talk show host in Tampa, Florida, sued a rival from another station. Schnitt’s lawsuit alleged that Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (that really is the name he uses) had defamed Schnitt and his wife Michelle during several radio shows. (For example, he called Michelle a whore at one point.) A jury eventually found in Clem’s favor.

But even as the trial was going on, there was another drama taking place behind the scenes. Robert Adams, Stephen Diaco, and Adam Filthaut, the attorneys representing Clem, apparently arranged for their legal secretary, Melissa Personius, to flirt with Schnitt’s attorney, Phil Campbell, in a bar. Her job was to keep Campbell drinking and then get him behind the wheel of a car so a waiting cop could pick him up for DUI. Campbell could have walked home, but Personius asked him to take her home, claiming she was too drunk to drive.

Personius denied that her bosses had put her up to the scheme, but her ex-husband claimed that she had told him she would get a big bonus for her part in the scheme. (Her ex also videotaped her telling that story.)

Clem’s three attorneys, who have denied the charges, now face a disbarment trial for their role in the DUI setup. Meanwhile, prosecutors have dismissed the DUI charges against Phil Campbell.

Designing and executing an effective defense against DUI charges (even simple ones) is not intuitive. Fortunately, you can trust the seasoned, highly successful Michael Kraut. Call a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles with nearly two decades of experience.

Published on: May 27, 2015

Woman Thanks Cop for DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

There are many things that people picked up for a DUI in Los Angeles would probably like to say to the officers who arrested them. “Thank you” is usually not one of them. But one California woman had a different reaction. Six months after her arrest, Mariya Fair returned to the police station to express her gratitude to the cop who had previously charged her with DUI.

Officer Wayne Blessinger of the Fontana Police Department arrived at an accident scene on New Year’s Eve 2014. Fair, 36, had gone through a light and had crashed into two other vehicles. Fortunately, she didn’t injure anyone, but Blessinger arrested her for DUI and took her to jail.

According to Los Angeles’ ABC 7 Eyewitness News, Fair said that Officer Blessinger looked at the needle tracks in her arms and told her, “You know you’re so young. I don’t know what’s going on in your life, but you need to get yourself in order, you need to get your life in order.” Blessinger said he didn’t think he was getting through, but his words made a big impression on Fair. She had attempted suicide earlier in the month and was already planning another try when the cop spoke to her. After her arrest she turned her life around.

Fair, who is the mother of two, said Officer Blessinger was the first person to really notice her and to express concern. So the day after Mother’s Day she returned to the police station to thank Blessinger. It was a real surprise to Blessinger, who said he never expected to be thanked for arresting someone.

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: May 25, 2015

Cop Faces Higher Penalties under Michigan’s “Super Drunk” Law

by Michael Kraut

A blood alcohol content reading of .08 or higher is enough to get you charged with a DUI in Los Angeles. You face the same penalties whether or not your BAC is .09 or .16.

But that’s not the case in Michigan. The Great Lake State has what’s commonly referred to as the “super-drunk” law that applies to DUI arrests. Anyone who’s driving with a BAC of .17 or higher may face more severe consequences if arrested, even if it’s a first-time offense. One off-duty Michigan cop is discovering just how seriously the state takes such incidents.

Jamie Dubay, 39, is a 14-year veteran of the Sterling Heights Police Department. It was 1:30 in the morning of April 22 and Dubay was off duty when his 2012 Dodge Ram pickup truck left the road, hit several sections of a privacy fence and then ended up against a tree. An ambulance transported Dubay to the hospital, which admitted him for non-life threatening injuries.

The Macomb County Sheriff’s office, which took over investigation of the case from the Sterling Heights Police Department, charged Dubay with operating a vehicle with a high blood alcohol content. Although this is a misdemeanor charge, Dubay could face higher penalties than because his BAC was .27–more than three times the legal limit.

Of course, those are not the only consequences that Dubay may suffer. The Sterling Heights Police Department has suspended him, and he faces an internal investigation to determine how/if he has violated department policies and discipline.
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: May 11, 2015

Tweeting DUI Drivers Cause Fatal Accidents in Florida

by Michael Kraut

There are a few things that drivers should never do before or during their time behind the wheel. One is imbibing to excess; others include tweeting or texting while they’re on the road. (Anyone charged with a DUI in Los Angeles could suffer some additional legal problems if they’re also texting at the same time.) In the last few years, two women in Florida learned there can be deadly consequences from this behavior.

Kayla Maria Mendoza, 22, will be spending 24 years in jail as a result of a 2013 head-on collision in which she killed two young women, Kaitlyn Ferrante and Marisa Catronio. Shortly after tweeting “2 drunk 2 care,” Mendoza headed her Hyundai Sonata the wrong way on the Sawgrass Expressway in Coral Springs, eventually slamming into the Toyota Camry driven by Ferrante.

Mendoza, whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, had been drinking two large margaritas before she got behind the wheel. She was also drinking illegally, being under 21 at the time.

Earlier that year, in August 2013, 22-year-old Mila Dago, drowning her sorrows after breaking up with her boyfriend, ran a red light in Miami and crashed into a truck. The collision killed Dago’s friend and passenger, Irina Reinoso. A police investigation revealed that shortly before the accident, Dago had texted her former boyfriend with messages such as “Driving drunk woo… I’ll be dead thanks to you.”

Like Mendoza, Dago’s blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. Dago is facing charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and DUI with damage to a person.

Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.

Published on: May 8, 2015

Case Dismissed: DUI Charges Thrown Out of Court

by Michael Kraut

Anyone charged with a Los Angeles DUI hopes that the charges get thrown out of court and that they’ll go free without any repercussions to their jobs and their lives. That doesn’t happen as often as defendants would desire, but here are two cases from other states that demonstrate that DUI defendants sometimes do have their wishes come true.

According to the WRBC 3 TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a judge dismissed DUI charges against a local man whose blood tests revealed that he had no alcohol and no drugs in his system. Steven Harris said he explained to an officer that cancer treatments when he was a young child had affected his balance, which was why had difficulty passing a field sobriety test. Harris agreed to blood tests, but when the first results came back negative the state chose to conduct further tests. When those tests showed that Harris was clean, a judge finally threw out the charges against him.

Harris said he had missed several job opportunities because of the false DUI charge against him.

Meanwhile, in Florida, state officials dismissed charges against Florida State cornerback P. J. Williams, anticipated to be a top pick in the NFL draft. The Florida state’s attorney’s office decided not to pursue charges against Williams for an incident that had occurred on the night of April 3rd. Prosecutor said that the video of the arrest didn’t corroborate the arresting officer’s story, since the angle of the camera blocked the views of the field sobriety test.

Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.