Articles Posted in DUI

by

Continuing their heightened DUI enforcement that began over the holidays, law enforcement officials implemented sobriety checkpoints on Super Bowl Sunday to discourage drivers from driving under the influence in California. Law enforcement officials all over the state deployed extra patrols and added additional DUI checkpoints throughout Southern California to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving, according to a Pasadena Star-News report.

According to a written statement from the California Highway Patrol, 403 Californians were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on last year’s Super Bowl Sunday. “We’re not discouraging the celebration,” CHP Baldwin Park Commander Bill Siegl said. “We’re asking the fans to make the right call, so they won’t find themselves benched in a jail cell.”
Continue reading

by

Law enforcement officials recently released the name of an 11-month-old girl killed by a suspected drunken driver in a hit-and-run incident in the Westlake area, according to this article in the Los Angeles Wave. Witnesses reported that 11-month-old Yudith Ausencio, her 5-year-old sister, and their mother were struck while walking across the street near the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Street just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, February 2, 2009.

Witnesses said that the mother and two small children were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when they were struck by a hit-and-run driver who fled from the scene. Hours later, working on a license plate number and other information provided by witnesses, Police took 30-year-old Henry Yovanni Moreno, of Southgate into custody. Moreno faces a variety of charges, including felony hit-and-run, felony DUI, drunken vehicular manslaughter in California.

Moreno, originally from Honduras, is being held without bail in jail and local law enforcement officials are waiting to hear from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding Moreno’s immigration status. The mother of the slain baby is being treated for serious injuries, and her 5-year-old daughter was critically injured in the accident.
Continue reading

by

According to this article in the Orange County Register, a Fullerton woman died early Sunday, February 1, 2009, from injuries she suffered when a suspected DUI driver ran a red light and struck her car in La Habra. Officials with the La Habra Police Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the traffic accident around 1:30 a.m. and pronounced April Junhee Whang, 26, of Fullerton dead at the scene.

The crash is still under investigation but authorities say that Whang was southbound on Beach Boulevard in a 2004 Acura Integra and turned left onto eastbound Imperial Highway when it was struck by a 2003 Mazda 6. According to eyewitness accounts, the Mazda, driven by Brittany Deanne Schuetz, 20, of Irvine, failed to stop for a red light and struck Whang’s car at a high rate of speed. Schuetz was taken to UCI Medical Center for treatment and is being held by authorities on suspicion of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter in California.
Continue reading

by

In an atypical case of driving under the influence in California, a helicopter pilot for a popular rock and roll musician has been detained by Los Angeles police officers on suspicion of operating his aircraft while intoxicated. This Mercury News report about an unusual Los Angeles DUI incident claims that the suspect is a helicopter pilot for Tommy Lee, drummer for the popular rock band Motley Crue.

The pilot, who has not yet been named by police, was spotted by Los Angeles police operating his aircraft in an erratic manner. Police spokeswoman Karen Smith said that the pilot violated safety procedures by flying too close to a police helicopter near Van Nuys and ignoring directions from the Van Nuys flight tower. Police say that the pilot was released without being arrested after submitting to a field sobriety test. Lee, who was a passenger in the helicopter, was questioned briefly and released. The Federal Aviation Administration has begun an investigation of the incident and is waiting for toxicology test results.
Continue reading

by

A fugitive who fled the country after allegedly driving under the influence in California and killing a motorcyclist in 2005 has been extradited to Orange County and will face felony charges, according to this recent Los Angeles Times article. According to law enforcement officials, former Hyundai executive, Youn Bum Lee, 41, of South Korea, had been drinking with colleagues at a Korean barbecue restaurant in Garden Grove in October 2005 and consumed more alcohol at a nearby karaoke bar.

Later that night, officials claim that Lee got into a company-owned Hyundai SUV and crashed the vehicle into a concrete barrier on Freeway 55 in Santa Ana. After the crash, Lee left the SUV at the site of the crash with its lights off. Sometime later, Ryan Dallas Cook was riding his motorcycle when he failed to see the crashed SUV, slammed into it, and was killed after being struck by other motorists. Around 24 hours after the accident, Lee boarded a plane to South Korea. Weeks later, Cook’s parents filed a lawsuit against Hyundai Motor America claiming that company officials helped Lee leave the country before he could be questioned by the police.
Continue reading

by

Gary Collins, TV host and 70-year-old actor, was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol on the evening of February 1, 2009, on suspicion of driving under the influence according to this Post Chronicle article. Law enforcement officials with the California Highway Patrol claim that Collins faces charges after being pulled over in Santa Barbara when officers spotted him driving a motor home in an erratic manner.

According to officers on the scene, Collins refused a field sobriety test although a blood-alcohol test was submitted later in the evening.

The current California DUI charges are in addition to other DUI charges filed against Collins 13 months ago. Officials claim that Collins served a four-day jail sentence in Los Angeles, and was placed on two years of probation after he pleaded no contest to a previous DUI charge stemming from a December 2007 accident.
Continue reading

by

According to this recent article in the Santa Maria Times, law enforcement officials have filed vehicular manslaughter and California DUI charges against Jesus Martinez, 20, of Los Angeles. The charges stem from an automobile accident early in February in which a passenger in Martinez’ car suffered severe injuries that caused his death. According to law enforcement officials, Martinez was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol when the car he was driving collided with a tractor trailer sometime during the evening of February 5, 2009.

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced the charges against Martinez, which include vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury (a special allegation that great bodily injury was caused), and a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license.
Continue reading

by

A woman who faces multiple charges, including driving under the influence of narcotics, was named by law enforcement authorities recently, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times. Law enforcement officials named Alisha Nichole Mankin as the person responsible for a televised chase which caused three different traffic accidents and involved pursuit from numerous law enforcement agencies. According to authorities, Mankin, of the Antelope Valley of Littlerock, and a friend left a storage facility in a rented U-Haul truck around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4, 2009.

Sometime later, Mankin and her passenger were spotted by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy engaging in suspicious activity after they stopped their rented truck by a car on the side of the road. The deputy approached the two and discovered the passenger had narcotics in his possession, so they were arrested for California drug possession. But according to California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Winter, Mankin attempted to flee the scene rather than be arrested. Winter said, “The guy is in possession of narcotics, and he’s arrested. As the deputy is putting him into his cruiser, she decides to take off running. She gets into the U-Haul because the keys are in it and takes off.”
Continue reading

by

According to this CBS Channel 2 DUI report, a man suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol caused a crash early on the morning of February 2, 2009, which killed the alleged drunken driver and resulted in six people suffering injuries. Law enforcement officials claim that Rojelio Sanchez, 25, was heading westbound on Manchester Avenue around 1:30 in the morning with three passengers in a 1997 Ford Explorer.

Police officers responding to the scene say that Sanchez’ Explorer ran a red light at Manchester Avenue and Main Street in South Los Angeles and collided with a 1994 Ford Thunderbird carrying four people. Firefighters responding to the scene of the crash say that two passengers were trapped in the wreckage of the Thunderbird for 15 minutes before being freed.
Continue reading

Contact Information
Westside Towers
11845 W Olympic Blvd #1000
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: (866) 430-8383
California Criminal Lawyer Blog Disclaimer: The criminal defense, DUI, DMV, drivers license suspension, sex crime, drug crime, domestic violence or other criminal defense information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice, nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney client relationship. Any results portrayed here were dependent on the facts of that case and the results will differ if based on different facts. Please contact a California criminal defense lawyer or Los Angeles DUI defense attorney at our law offices located in Los Angeles and the greater Los Angeles areas. This web site is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the State of California.
We respect the privacy of our prospective clients. We realize that concerns about privacy and the secure transfer, storage and use of personal information have increased with the growth of the internet. That is why we have a strict privacy policy. We do not disclose any personal information about our prospective clients, current clients or former clients to anyone, except as required or permitted by law. We restrict access to personal information about you to those employees or independent contractors who need to know that information in order to provide services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information. If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to contact us. Your privacy, as well as the ability to provide you with quality legal services, is very important to us.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2016 – 2024, Sitkoff & Hanrahan, LLP
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design