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Former Warrant lead singer Jani Lane was arrested late Wednesday night in Woodland Hills, California on suspicion of DUI. In addition, Lane, also owes $121,024 in federal income taxes, records show.

Lane was involved in a fender bender in Woodland Hills, when he allegedly hit a parked car. When Van Nuys police arrived at the scene, Lane he showed signs of intoxication. He was arrested and booked for misdemeanor DUI and was released the Thursday next morning on $30,000 bail.

Lane left Warrant in 2002 to pursue a solo career. He released a solo album, “Back Down to One”, in 2003, but shortly after was admitted to a rehab center for alcohol and drug-related exhaustion. He also appeared on VH1’s reality series “Celebrity Fit Club.”

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The Orange County register is reporting that the Placentia police are setting up a checkpoint Saturday night focusing on drunk drivers and drivers without licenses.

The Police Department timed the checkpoint to coincide with graduation parties but did not did not reveal a location. Generally in order for DUI checkpoint stops to be constitutionally valid, police must reveal that there is a checkpoint planned and where it is located. It will be interesting to see if any of the arrests made at the checkpoint are challenged on these grounds.

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KTLA news is reporting that actress Lori Petty was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and booked into the Van Nuys jail early Sunday morning.

According to police reports, the 45-year-old actress was driving in Venice Saturday night when she allegedly struck a skateboarder. The skateboarder only suffered minor injuries. He was treated at the scene and released.

Best known for her roles in “A League of Their Own” and “Point Break,” Petty was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and booked. She spent about five hours in jail before posting $100,000 bail.

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According to web reports, California Law Enforcement was alerted by a Merced resident of a car that had hit a concrete fence and was fleeing the scene–riding on three flat tires.

Police responded to the tip and stopped a flat-tired vehicle. When they questioned the driver, Sean Guevara, he admitted to having switched places with Nikki Munoz, who was driving at the time of the accident. Both were arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in California.

It is a crime to drive a car in California with a blood-alcohol concentration, or BAC, is higher than a .08. It is also illegal to drive a car while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Prosecutors can charge DUI even if the drivers BAC isn’t high—they just have to show that the defendant was under the influence to the extent that the driver’s normal faculties were impaired.

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Should I do the Field Sobriety Tests? The short answer: Unless you haven’t had a single drink, this is probably a very bad idea.

If you have been drinking and the police pull you over, it is my suggestion to be smart and refuse to incriminate yourself. Exit from your vehicle only if the police orders you to get out of your car. And if the police officer asks you to perform the field sobriety tests, politely refuse. By law, you do not have an obligation to perform field sobriety tests, and the refusal to perform these so-called tests is inadmissible against you in California courts.

In addtion, there isn’t a penalty imposed upon you for refusing to attempt these discredited “tests”- sometimes called “Standardized Field Sobriety Tests” or “Roadside Exercises.” The “tests” are very difficult to pass, especially since you are required to perform them under the watchful eye of the officer with the power to arrest you. In many cases, the officer has already made up his mind to arrest you. He wants you to attempt these “tests” so that when you are charged with DUI, he can present more evidence to the jury of your alleged impairment. Almost always, no matter how well you may believe that you performed on these “tests,” the officer will likely testify that you failed the “tests” miserably. So my position is why help the officer build his case against you?

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According to a press release from the Newport Beach Police Department, the Traffic Division of the Newport Beach Police Department will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint on Friday, May 22, 2009 the northbound side of Dover Drive at 16th Street. The checkpoint is scheduled from 9:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m.

According to the release, the DUI checkpoint will be clearly marked and vehicles will be selected to move through the check lanes a pre-set pattern to ensure that cars are being picked objectivity and that cars can moove through the checkpoint in a timely manner. Motorists will be greeted and given an information brochure on “Driving under the influence”, prepared by the Newport Beach Police Department Traffic Division.

Regardless of whether you will be near this checkpoint, be safe out there this weekend and be sure to use a designated driver.

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San Bernardino Sun is reporting that San Bernardino police arrested 10 people and wrote 167 tickets during a weekend driver’s license and sobriety checkpoint on Saturday afternoon and evening. The checkpoint was from 3 until 11 p.m. in the 1600 block of West Fifth Street.

In addition to the tickets and criminal arrests, officers impounded 69 vehicles Police said 50 motorists ticketed did not have a license or were driving on a suspended license. Four of the 10 people arrested were suspected of driving while under the influence, police said.

The DUI checkpoint was funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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The Orange County Register is reporting on a DUI crash that has left an 18-year-old Upland man recovering from a deep scalp cut and facing driving under the influence charges after crashing a Porsche near a freeway on-ramp late Wednesday night.

Witnesses reported Dominick Anthony McCoy’s vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed south on Bear Street and Paularino Avenue. According to investigators, the car struck an electrical box, went through a freeway sign and came to rest about 20 feet later on the on-ramp from Bear to the northbound 73.

A 38-year-old female passenger in the McCoy car was injured and when police found McCoy, his bleeding head sticking was out of the top of the convertible. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment. McCoy was arrested by Costa Mesa police on suspicion of DUI and then released to medical staff where it likely that they took a blood sample.

Generally, blood tests are far more reliable than other chemical tests. The lab doing the testing takes the vial, adds some chemicals and analyzes the results. In order to maintain quality control, part of the original sample is then sent to an independent lab and is re-analyzed. If there is a different result, there may be an available defense to the result.

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CBS 13 is reporting that the Linda, California man who killed a family of six in a drunk driving accident in September, 2006 has been sentenced to 60 years to life in prison today.

Bradley Bledsoe was arrested in September of 2006 outside his home after fleeing the scene of the crash that killed six people from one family. A report by the California Highway Patrol said Bledsoe was driving his SUV on Highway 70 south of Marysville when he rear-ended the family’s SUV, causing it to spin and slam into a tree.

Bledsoe was charged and convicted of six counts of second-degree murder, hit and run, DUI and driving with a restricted license.

It is a crime to drive a car in California with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. It is also illegal to drive a car while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. If you cause an accident while you are DUI and someone is seriously injured or killed you can face felony charges including vehicular manslaughter.

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The Orange County Register is reporting that speeding and failure to yield are among the deadliest traffic habits in Orange County. This is according to data released by the California Office of Traffic Safety.

The top five reasons people are injured or die in crashes in 2008 include:
(1) Unsafe speeds – 3,171 collisions reported and 35 deaths.
(2) Failure to yield right-of-way – 1,609 collisions reported which resulted in seven
deaths.
(3) Improper turning – 1,023 collisions reported, 26 deaths.
(4) Failure to follow traffic signals and signs- 975 reported, 10 deaths.
(5) Driving under the influence– 910 crashes reported that resulted in 36
deaths.

Last year’s data marks a significant drop from the number of collisions in 2000. That year, 15,590 total collisions were reported in O.C.In 2000, 1,109 Orange County were caused by driving under the influence.

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