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In June of last year, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy was driving his county issued Chevrolet SUV in the middle of the night, while under the influence of alcohol. Deputy Robert Andrew Moran crashed his car into another car at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Garden Grove, injuring the driver and passenger of that car. He was charged with driving under the influence causing injury and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of about a .08%. He plead no contest to these misdemeanor charges and, this week, was sentenced to home confinement for six months. Additionally, he was put on probation for 3 years and required to enroll in a three-month DUI first offender program. He was placed on unpaid leave from the Sheriff’s department after the incident, but will seek reinstatement after confinement is over.

Normally, the punishment for a first time DUI includes: fees, probation and alcohol education classes. It seems that Moran was punished quite severely for a first time DUI offense in that he also was given home confinement. It is likely that the District Attorney wanted to prove that everyone gets punished for violating laws, including officers. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Aliso Viejo or Laguna Beach, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Joel Torrejon Miranda, a suspected drunk driver with three prior convictions was indicted on gross vehicular manslaughter charges this week. Allegedly, in February, Miranda was driving his Chevrolet pickup truck with a blood alcohol level of .23%. He made an unsafe turn at an intersection which caused a car crash with Nguyen Tran. Miranda’s truck then went up a curb and hit pedestrian Francisco Aquino. Aquino was pinned against a wall and had serious injuries. He died two days later in the hospital. After the accident, Miranda fled the scene and was arrested a short time later.

Miranda already had 3 prior DUI convictions and had been sentenced to 96 hours in jail and three years of probation for his last DUI. For this DUI manslaughter change, Miranda may face 20 years to life in prison, if convicted. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for October 23. Whether you live in Tustin, Santa Ana or Laguna Woods, if you are charged with DUI manslaughter, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Roger Avery, a screenwriter, director and producer, was sentenced to 1 year in jail and 5 years probation for DUI manslaughter. Avery, his wife, and his friend Andreas Zini went to dinner in January of 2008. They left the restaurant and Avery was intoxicated, but still decided to drive them home. Around 12:30am, Avery was going around 100 m.p.h. when he slammed into a pole. Zini was killed instantly and Avery and his wife received injuries. Police arrested Avery who had a blood alcohol level of .11%.

Prosecutors said Avery could have received 12 years for the crime, but he knew Avery was remorseful and this was his first crime, so they reduced the sentence. The court said that even though Avery would have to be in jail for one year, he may be able to work from jail through a work furlough program. While in jail he will also have to take alcohol classes.

Whether you live in Orange, Laguna Niguel or La Palma, if you are charged with DUI manslaughter, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney right away. A good defense attorney MAY be able to have your charges dropped or reduce your sentence, depending on the facts.

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Last Thursday, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., Newport Beach Police set up a sobriety checkpoint on Dover Drive. About 340 cars drove through the checkpoint, 308 cars were given DUI material and information and were observed by officers, 11 of the drivers were given field sobriety tests, 6 were arrested for driving under the influence, 11 citations were given and 7 cars were towed.

DUI checkpoints can be costly for cities, but many cities think its worth it. DUI checkpoints scare the community to not drink and drive and also save people’s lives. If you ever want to know if there will be a DUI checkpoint in your area, call the local police station and ask. Even if there is no DUI checkpoint, there is often police saturation during the weekend to catch drunk drivers. Whether you live in Huntington Beach, Irvine or La Palma, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Newport Beach Police just received about $200,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety for its DUI enforcement program. This grant was approved last week because of the high rates of DUI’s in Newport Beach. The grant will fund six DUI checkpoints, 110 DUI saturation patrols, and two DUI court sting operations where police wait by Harbor Justice Center and catch people driving with suspended licenses that were revoked because of a DUI.

It is great that Newport Beach will step up its DUI enforcement because alcohol awareness and DUI prevention is important and pivotal in preventing DUI accidents and fatalities. These days, so many people get DUI’s and don’t think they are a big deal. Driving under the influence is a big deal however, because it leads to extensive fines for you, probation, a revoked license and possible jail time. Whether you live in Orange, Costa Mesa or Laguna Woods, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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On Saturday afternoon, around 3 p.m., actress Tawny Kitaen was in a car accident in Newport Beach on Bristol North and Campus Street. Police were called and after suspecting Kitaen of being intoxicated, they arrested her. Police were not clear if she was under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs at the time of the arrest. She was released soon after being arrested on $2,500 bail.

Kitaen recently appeared on the reality show “Celebrity Rehab.” There, she admitted being addicted to drugs. Her prior criminal past involved domestic violence and drug charges.

Often, if you are addicted to one drug and you try to stop using that drug, you may turn to another one to fill the void. Hopefully, Kitaen has not become an alcoholic and this was a one time event. Whether you live in Laguna Beach, Brea or Orange, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Last week, Javier Hernandez was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence. Gloria Rodriguez, her husband Roman Alvarado and their son Marcos, were all walking along Tyler Street together. Hernandez was driving on that street with a blood alcohol level of .22%, when he accidentally drove off the road.

As Hernandez’s car came towards the three pedestrians. Alvarado saw the car coming and grabbed the baby and tried to climb up a fence, but Rodriguez did not get out of the way in time. She was struck and killed instantly. Hernandez was initially charged with murder since his mother and sister told him not to drive, but he was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter instead. He will be sentenced in November.

Juries have consistently convicted defendants of murder if they learn that the defendant had been previously advised that driving drunk could result in someone’s death. This warning frequently comes in the form of an advisement on a guilty plea form the defendant initialed after agreeing to plead guilty in a prior DUI case. Among the many sad lessons here: If a court advises you during a guilty plea that when you drive drunk you could cause an accident that results in death drunk, and you are arrested while DUI, causing the death of another, you may very well be charged with murder.

Since he was convicted of manslaughter, it is unlikely that Hernandez will be sentenced for longer than 10 years since the manslaughter was an accident. He will, however, get a sentencing enhancement because his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. Whether you live in La Palma, Laguna Niguel or Santa Ana, if you are charged with DUI manslaughter, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Last week, during early morning hours, a woman heard a loud crash in her neighborhood and called police. Police arrived at 1 a.m. to find a red Ford pick-up truck with no tires that had crashed into a parked van on La Zanga Street in San Juan Capistrano. Josue Sanchez Munoz was arrested for driving under the influence.

Recently, The San Juan Capistrano City Council had discussed the problem of parking in this neighborhood since parked cars were frequently hit by passing cars.

Fortunately for Munoz, he just hit a parked car while no one was in it. To his credit, he did the responsible thing and stuck around instead of trying to flee. Since no one was hurt, it is likely that Munoz will have to pay for the damage he caused to his car and the parked van and be put on probation for three years. Had the parked car been occupied, he would have faced felony DUI charges and jail time. If he is convicted of a future DUI, he will likely go to jail and have to take an 18 month alcohol class. Whether you live in Newport Beach, Anaheim Hills or Brea, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Matthew Cheeks was driving drunk in Costa Mesa around 2:15 on Friday morning. He was on Canyon Drive and Victoria Street when he crashed into a light pole. The power went out in the neighboring area for a few seconds and then came back on. Police arrived at the scene of the crash and had to cut Cheeks out of the car, since the car was completely totaled. He was rushed to the hospital but only had minor injuries. He is likely going to be charged with driving under the influence.

In looking at the pictures of Cheeks’ car after the incident, he is lucky he was not killed. Driving under the influence can lead to serious consequences. Luckily, it was so late at night that not many cars were on the road. Cheeks needs a good DUI defense attorney to assist him. A good attorney would look at his blood alcohol level to see if he was actually intoxicated. Additionally, the attorney would look into road conditions to see if there was another cause for the accident. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Fullerton or Huntington Beach, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI attorney to assist you.

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As I mentioned before, Lynette Ann Hunt was found guilty of 2 counts of DUI vehicular manslaughter for a crash that occurred in July of 2008. Hunt had been drinking at a friend’s party and still decided to drive her friends home with a blood alcohol level of .15%. The car skidded off the road and her two friends, Vanessa Herrada and Maria Zamarripa, were killed immediately. After being found guilty in August of the manslaughter charges, last week the judge announced that she would be facing 6 years in custody for her actions.

It is unfortunate that Hunt decided to drive that night, while so heavily intoxicated. Even though she had no intentions of killing her friends, a drunk driver assumes the risk of being held liable if something should happen while driving. For her bad decisions, she has to spend 6 years in prison, thinking about her actions. Besides prison, Hunt will likely be on probation after release and have to take alcohol classes. Whether you live in Laguna Niguel, Santa Ana or Orange, if you are charged with DUI manslaughter, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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