2012 April Archive

Any Orange County DUI attorney will tell you that a police officer needs a legal cause to pull you over in order for any evidence collected during the course of a DUI investigation to be admissible during a trial. One of our associates managed to have all of the evidence in one of our clients cases dismissed because the evidence from the dashboard camera of the arresting officer’s vehicle did not corroborate what the officer wrote down in his report as to why he initially pulled over our client.

Unfortunately for a 31-year-old Santa Ana man, his DUI lawyer won’t be able to argue the same thing as he was arrested after driving the wrong way on two different freeways during a chase that ultimately led to a foot chase.

Fernando Carbajal Villagrana was spotted by an off duty California Highway Patrol officer on his way into work traveling the wrong way on the 73 freeway. Villagrana then exited onto Harbor before ditching his car and making a run for it. He was eventually caught and it was discovered that the car he was traveling in was also stolen.

Following his arrest, an investigation also revealed that several motorists had reported Villagrana to 911 operators traveling the wrong way on the 405 freeway.

In addition to being in possession of a stolen vehicle and evading arrest, Villagrana was arrested on suspicion of DUI. While the punishments for DUI in California are amongst the most severe in the country, in this instance, the DUI charge is the least of Villagrana’s worries.

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A Laguna Niguel man gave an entirely new meaning to the idea of wedding crashing and will spend the next three years in state prison after crashing his SUV and getting a DUI hours after tying the knot with his wife at the county courthouse. Christopher Paul Shore, who has his Orange County DUI lawyer on speed dial, was arrested on July 7th 2011 after pulling his SUV across 4 lanes of traffic on the I-5, down an embankment and into a tree. His new bride was injured in the car wreck and Shore was charged with felony drunk driving.

Why it took just under a year for this case to reach sentencing isn’t entirely clear, but when the judge hearing the case found out that Shore has 4 other misdemeanor DUI convictions (the wedding day DUI was number 5), she deemed him to be a danger to society and threw the book at him.

Once an individual gets their 4th DUI in a ten year period, the DUI becomes a “wobbler”. This means that prosecutors have the option to charge the DUI as either a misdemeanor or a felony. A felony conviction carries a maximum of 3 years in prison, which is exactly what Shore got. Shore will also have his driver’s license revoked for 4 years by the California DMV.

A misdemeanor conviction of a 4th or more DUI carries a maximum sentence of 1 year in county jail. As you can see the difference between a felony and misdemeanor conviction is massive, and requires the services of an expert California DUI attorney to get you the best possible result in your case.

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A traffic accident in Huntington Beach that could have ended up with much worse consequences than it did resulted in two people being rushed to the hospital and one person being charged with suspicion of DUI. The phones of Orange County DUI attorneys tend to ring a bit more on Monday’s following a weekend of partying, and this Monday will be no exception.
The identities of the individuals involved in the crash have not been revealed, but details of the accident have been. Police and fire crews responded to a call about a three car collision on Pacific Coast Highway Friday evening around 6:40 p.m.

According to the police report, one driver was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed. That driver hit the center median, losing control and crashing into two other cars. One of the cars flipped over, and the two passengers in that car were rushed to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.

No details have been released regarding the driver arrested on suspicion of DUI, however, that individual is facing very serious charges. Punishment for a DUI involving great bodily injury to another person often carries a sentencing enhancement. While a DUI is typically filed as a misdemeanor, if the DUI involves and accident that causes great bodily injury, prosecutors have the option to file the DUI as a felony.

A felony conviction carries with it a maximum sentence of 3 years in state prison. A misdemeanor conviction would carry with it a maximum sentence of 1 year in county jail. The individual’s drivers’ license would also be suspended for a period of 1 year.

California is amongst the most aggressive states when it comes to pursuing and punishing individuals arrested on suspicion of DUI. When that alleged DUI involves a traffic accident, prosecutors are even more aggressive. The consequences are too high to take your chances on your own. Speaking to an aggressive criminal defense attorney who specializes in DUIs is an absolute must if you are ever charged with this offense.

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A busy stretch of California highway was shut down over the weekend but was thankfully cleared up in time for the Monday morning commute after a fiery car accident involving a gas tanker. The driver responsible for the accident will be looking for a Ventura County DUI attorney, as he was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DUI.

The accident happened in the late night hours on Saturday. Hakop Maghakyan, 25, was traveling eastbound on the 134 freeway when he crashed into the back of a gas tanker. According to police reports, Maghakyan was traveling at a high rate of speed, causing the tanker to overturn and burst into flames.

Nobody was injured in the accident, but the fire did cause the 134 to be shut down until Sunday evening. Police reports don’t indicate what Maghakyan’s blood alcohol content was at the time, but we can confirm that he was released from custody on Sunday.

Despite all of the damage done by Maghakyan, he is still only facing a misdemeanor DUI. However, the owner of the gas rig could file a civil suit seeking restitution for the gas that was lost in the crash. A gasoline tanker holds approximately 8,800 gallons, so if it was full at the time of the crash, given today’s average gas prices, Maghakyan is looking at $40,000 in restitution in gasoline alone.

As far as the criminal case is concerned, it vital that Maghakyan find a great DUI attorney. If he manages to be found not guilty of a DUI, it could help him in any civil litigation that may be filed against him down the line.

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Just about everyone has had that empty feeling in the stomach when they look into their rear view mirror to see the flashing red and blue lights of a police car. If you’ve had a drink or two, you probably start asking yourself if you know a good DUI attorney. But what if you are a police officer, driving in your police car and you look in your rear view mirror to see the flashing red and blue lights of one of your fellow officers.

That was exactly the case this past weekend in Texas when an officer dressed in plain clothes was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of DUI. Police were tipped off that there was a tipsy police officer on the road when a concerned citizen reported seeing a man slumped over the steering wheel of a cruiser. When sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene then found Officer Jacob Cuevas driving down the road.

The sheriff’s deputy that pulled over Cuevas reported that he smelled alcohol on Cuevas’ breath and reported that Cuevas demonstrated sign of being intoxicated. Cuevas was off duty at the time of his arrest and at this point in the investigation, it is unclear what he was doing in his police cruiser.

In addition to facing fines, suspension of license, and potential jail time, Cuevas has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation and could ultimately be fired from the police force.

You don’t have to be a police officer to find your livelihood in jeopardy should you be arrested for suspicion of DUI. In addition to the legal punishments for DUI, the consequences that people face in their personal lives are often times much more sever. That is why it is crucial that you contact a Southern California DUI attorney as soon as you are arrested. Time is not on your side in these cases, and the courts aggressively pursue DUI convictions.

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