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In June, Dodger’s relief pitcher Ronald Belisario was pulled over by California Highway Patrol in Pasadena for driving while talking on a cell phone. After being pulled over, officers realized he was intoxicated so he was immediately arrested and charged with a DUI. He was released on $5,000 bail. Last week, Belisario entered a plea of not guilty for the DUI charge. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for October.

Belisario spent 10 years in the minor leagues before becoming a Dodger. If he is convicted of the DUI, it may affect his baseball career. He may have to spend time in jail and miss important games. Drinking and driving has such a major effect and such severe consequences that no one should do it. Whether you live in Artesia, Westminster or San Clemente, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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On Friday night, Laguna Beach PD set up a DUI checkpoint from 9pm to 2 am on PCH. They hoped to catch any drunk drivers that passed them. In total, about 1,996 cars drove through the checkpoint in the 5 hours the checkpoint was set up. Around 15 motorists were given field sobriety tests and only 6 were actually arrested. Four others were cited for license violations. Representatives from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control were there to hand out information about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Also on Friday night, Irvine PD set up a DUI checkpoint on Barranca Parkway and Von Karman St. Four people were given sobriety tests but only two were arrested for driving under the influence. Five citations were also given.

DUI checkpoints are an easier way for officers to check driver sobriety in a busy area. Whether you live in Garden Grove, Huntington Beach or Fullerton, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Last week, Costa Mesa Police set up a DUI checkpoint, stopping about 237 cars. One car that was pulled over had a driver that was driving under the influence. When another car was pulled over and officers told the driver, Patrick Dylan Riley, to roll down the window, officers said it smelled like marijuana. After searching the car, officers found a backpack full of 41 grams of marijuana. Also inside was a digital scale and a list of sales records. Additionally, inside the bag were 5 tabs of LSD or acid. Riley was immediately arrested. It was not clear if he was under the influence of any drugs at the time. Another DUI checkpoint will be set up in Costa Mesa again this week.

A person can be charged with a DUI if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These substances impair thinking, concentration and coordination. Driving is hard enough without mind altering substances. As previously mentioned in my last blog, drugged driving is on the rise. If you get charged with a DUI in Irvine, Huntington Beach or Garden Grove, call an experienced attorney to assist you.

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Billy Gillispie was charged with a DUI this week, after refusing sobriety tests. Police followed Gillispie’s car as he was going 63 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer pulled him over and smelled a sweet fruity smell from Gillispie. Gillispie got out of the car and looked unstable. The officer also noticed his slurred speech and red eyes. He was arrested, charged with a DUI and plead not guilty.

Gillispie was the former Kentucky basketball coach that was fired. Once fired, he sued the University for terminating him after just two years since he was in a seven year contract. This is the third time Gillispie has been charged with a DUI. In 2003, he was arrested for a DUI but the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. In 1999, he was arrested and charged with a DUI but the charge was reduced to reckless driving.

Whether you live in Lake Forest, Anaheim or San Clemente, if you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced DUI defense attorney.

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In July, Diane Schuler was driving a minivan with five children in the car when she drove the wrong way on the street and got into a head on collision with an SUV. Four out of the five children and Schuler were killed instantly and all three passengers of the SUV were killed. Schuler had a blood alcohol level of .19 and had marijuana in her system. Her husband claims that she had never been drunk before and she had so many medical problems that could have caused the crash instead. That morning when she left the camp where she was staying, all the witnesses said she appeared normal and did not look or smell intoxicated. The family of the passengers in the SUV said they would likely sue her estate.

Diane Schuler may have had medical problems but there is no denying that she drove while intoxicated and under the influence of marijuana. Clearly, this led to the terrible accident that killed eight people, including four children. The effects of alcohol and marijuana may not be felt right away so if you have ingested any substances that are known to affect behavior, do not drive! Whether you live in Irvine, Orange or Fullerton, please contact an experienced DUI attorney if you are charged with a DUI.

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A study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted in 2007 revealed that less people in the U.S. are driving under the influence of alcohol. In a study of 11,000 drivers, only about 2.2% of the drivers had a blood alcohol level of above .08%. The disturbing finding, however, was that about 16.3% of those nighttime weekend drivers were under the influence of drugs at the time of the study. Marijuana, cocaine and prescription drugs were the main substances these drivers were under the influence of. The results of this study show that Americans are starting to understand the dangers of drunk driving but people have yet to learn about the dangers of drugged driving.

Alcohol and drug usage before driving can impair driving and lead to deadly results. Driving under the influence of either can be grounds for receiving a DUI. If you are impaired by any substance, do not drive! If you do drive, and you get a DUI, contact an experienced DUI attorney to help defend you.

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Scooter Patrol, a nonprofit organization that picks up intoxicated people at bars and drives them home, has closed due to financial hardship. The founder of Scooter Patrol, Anthony Panzica, thinks that the company has kept about 12,000 drunk drivers off the road. He started the company after he saw drunk people getting in their cars to drive home. At its peak, the company had about 15 volunteers that drove around beach cities and picked up people that needed rides home. It operated mainly on donations from sponsors and riders. When business started slowing down because of people carpooling, sponsors left and Scooter Patrol had to close. Panzica tried to get local government support but the government said they could not help because of liability issues.

Scooter Patrol is a great idea and it is extremely unfortunate that services like this cannot survive the deteriorating economy. Keeping 12,000 drunk drivers off the road is a tremendous achievement and probably saved so many lives. Hopefully, other programs like this can be implemented throughout California, thereby reducing the number of DUIs and drunk driving accidents that occur. If you are charged with a DUI, call an experienced Orange County DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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Heather Elizabeth Azkoul was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the death of Virginia Cordier, a mother of 5 children. In January of 2007, Azkoul got drunk with a friend at Alcatraz Brewing Co. at the Block in Orange and then drove home. On the way home, she hit a bicyclist and sped away. She was found later crying in her car with a blood alcohol level of .18. She was convicted of DUI manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated with prior convictions, including two past DUI charges. She was also found guilty of hit and run resulting in permanent injury or death.

At trial, one of the children of Cordier discussed that her father killed himself soon after her mother was killed. Azkoul did not intend to kill anyone that night and just wanted to get home. Unfortunately, she did kill someone and she will likely have to spend the rest of her life in prison thinking about her terrible decision to drive that night.

Whether you live in Fullerton, Laguna Niguel or Westminster, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced Orange County DUI defense attorney to assist you in fighting your charges and lowering your sentence.

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In 2008, more than 11,700 people died in crashes involving a driver that had a .08 blood alcohol level or higher. In California, there were 1,029 deaths which was a 9% reduction from the year before. Orange County is making a special effort to crack down on drunk drivers by planning DUI checkpoints and police saturation until Labor Day. All 38 Orange County law enforcement agencies will participate in the crackdown. In the OC Register, the Anaheim Police Department listed a schedule of where and when the DUI checkpoints will be held.

Whether you live in Irvine, Santa Ana or Fullerton, if you get stopped at a DUI checkpoint and you are intoxicated, you will get arrested and charged with a DUI. An experienced DUI defense attorney will look at your blood alcohol level and determine if you were over the legal limit or not. Depending on you blood alcohol level, the attorney may be able to drop you charges, lower your charges, or lower you sentence.

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After consuming about 15 beers, Kyle Wygle was seriously intoxicated. Nevertheless, he got onto his motorized barstool and drove home. He was going about 20 miles per hour near his home, when he tried to make a U-turn and suddenly crashed. Officers responded to the scene of the crime to see an injured man on a barstool. The motorized barstool was made with a lawnmower engine and steering wheel. Wygle was charged with a DUI and pled not guilty.

Although it seems strange to think that a motorized barstool could be considered a vehicle, any object that needs to be driven and that requires concentration and coordination is considered a vehicle. A good attorney may be able to reduce Wygle’s DUI charge to a reckless driving charge instead.

Whether you live in Aliso Viejo, Westminster or Yorba Linda, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.

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