Articles Posted in Criminal Defense

An Orange County woman, who had been accused of hit-and-run in connection with a January DUI auto accident in Orange County in Trabuco Canyon pleaded guilty to driving under the influence with injury. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Kristen Wilcox has been sentenced to 20 days in jail, three years probation, $390 in fines and three months on the first offender alcohol program. The accident occurred January 26, 2009 when the 23-year-old Wilcox crashed into a light pole on Live Oak Canyon Road.

The incident left almost 400 people without power for several hours and left Wilcox’s 17-year-old passenger with minor injuries. Wilcox left the crashed vehicle and injured passenger, but was arrested two hours later in the area by California Highway Patrol officials. Officers determined that Wilcox had been driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. Two charges against Wilcox were dismissed – hit-and-run with injury or death and driving under the influence with blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more causing injury or death.

If you are a first-time DUI offender and your accident did not involve major injuries or death, there is a good chance that the court will consider alternative sentencing in your DUI case. Examples of alternative sentencing in DUI cases include alcohol or drug rehabilitation programs, drug court, alcohol counseling, community service and so on. A skilled Orange County DUI defense attorney will help keep you out of jail and get you the help and support you need. If you have been charged with a DUI in Los Angeles, Orange or Ventura counties, please call Sitkoff & Hanrahan at 866-299-4111 to find out more information about your legal rights and options.

A La Puente woman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in California and hit-and-run after she allegedly collided with a Covina police cruiser. According to a news report in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 29-year-old Sandra Faviola Guerra was arrested a mile away from where the crash occurred. Guerra and her female passenger did not suffer significant injuries.

California Highway Patrol officials say the Covina police car was going south on Barranca Avenue approaching Cypress Street with a green light when Guerra was making a right turn on a red light from Cypress to Barranca. The police vehicle was disabled as a result of the crash and the officer could not pursue Guerra. But other officers did and apprehended her a few blocks away. CHP officials are also looking into whether the officer was speeding. The length of skid marks is an indicator of the speed of a vehicle involved in a collision. This is the type of evidence analysis our law firm has extensive experience in evaluating.

In California, it is a crime to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher. Leaving the scene of an accident is a violation of Section 20001 of the California Vehicle Code which states: “The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to any person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident.”

A teenager and a 38-year-old woman were injured after the 18-year-old driver crashed a Porsche near a freeway onramp in Costa Mesa. Police arrested Dominick Anthony McCoy, 18, on suspicion of DUI in California, according to a news report in The Orange County Register. The injured woman was identified as Dorothy Dunlap. Police say the teen was driving at a high rate of speed south on Bear Street near Paularino Avenue when he crashed the car. The Porsche struck an electrical box, went through a freeway sign and came to rest about 20 feet later on the onramp from Bear to the northbound 73 Freeway.

In California, it is illegal for drivers under 21 years of age to drive a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.01 percent or more. The penalties of underage DUI can be severe and could include fines, loss/suspension of driver’s license, jail time and participation in an alcohol education or community service program. If the California DUI accident involves injuries or fatalities to passengers (occupants of the vehicle other than the defendant), the penalties could be even more severe.

If you or a loved one has been charged with driving under the influence in Orange, Los Angeles or Ventura counties, please contact Sitkoff & Hanrahan for a free consultation. In any DUI case, the stakes are high and the consequences can be devastating. Not seeking the advice of experienced Los Angeles drunk driving defense lawyers can be a costly mistake. Please call us today at 866-299-4111 to find out more information about how we can help you fight your DUI and build a strong defense in your case.

Police in Ventura County arrested 26-year-old Jose Gonzalez on suspicion of DUI in California after he allegedly struck five parked vehicles. According to a news report in the Fillmore Gazette, Gonzalez was driving his 2007 black Ford F250 pickup truck south on B Street from Ventura Street at a high rate of speed when his vehicle drifted to the right side of the street and crashed into five, unoccupied parked vehicles. The pickup truck then came to rest in the middle of the street.

Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies, who responded to the call, determined that Gonzalez’s blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit of 0.08 percent and booked him at county jail for DUI. No one was injured in this collision, the news report stated.

California’s “implied consent” laws provide that if you are arrested for drunk driving, you have consented to chemical testing. If you refuse to submit to such testing, then your driving privilege can be suspended. The chemical test will normally consist of your choice of breath or blood analysis. A urine sample can also be taken.