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In Orange County Superior Court, a Westminster city councilman has been convicted of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 0.26 percent – which is more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent. According to a FOX news report, the councilman was involved in a car accident after he clipped another vehicle and crashed into a power pole. Neither he nor the occupants of the car he clipped were hurt in the drunk driving traffic collision.

Prosecutors charged the councilman with misdemeanor DUI and a high alcohol reading enhancement of driving while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol level of 0.20 percent or higher. The councilman apparently reached a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to three years of probation, a 10-day work program, approximately $2,000 in fees and a nine-month alcohol awareness program.

If you are first-time DUI offender and your car accident does not involve injury to others, then you may not get jail time. Prosecutors may charge a misdemeanor DUI in these cases. However, if your DUI accident involves significant property damage and injuries to others, then you are looking at jail time and the possibility of a felony. If there are fatalities involved, then California vehicular manslaughter charges may be filed. A felony charge is a more serious charge than a misdemeanor because the chance of jail time or state prison and greater penalties is possible.
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A 27-year-old Los Angeles man pleaded not guilty to several counts of kidnapping and sex crime charges in incidents involving Orange County girls, according to a news report in The Orange County Register. Prosecutors say the most recent sex crime involved a 10-year-old girl whom the man tried to kidnap as she was throwing out trash behind her apartment complex in Anaheim. The man tried to lure the girl by showing her a handful of cash, officials said. The girl reported the incident to her father, who got all but one of the car’s license plate numbers as the man drove away. Two other incidents were also reported, one involving the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in the man’s car.

Every sex crime case varies to a broad degree based on specific circumstances. Just because someone may have been charged with a sex crime, doesn’t mean that they are automatically. As Los Angeles and Orange County sex crime attorneys, we have seen many cases where defendants are wrongly accused of committing a sex crime. This particularly happens in cases involving children. Some of the issues we have seen include mistaken identity and wrongful accusations by a spouse who is contemplating a divorce and wants sole custody of the children. The penalties for sex crimes are extremely severe and often include a lengthy prison sentence and required registration as a sex offender. When you are convicted or even charged with a sex offense, you must live with that stigma and the effects it has on relationships and employment.
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More and more women are being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol – a trend which is apparent not only in Southern California or California, but also nationwide; according to a Riverside and San Bernardino County news report in the “Press Enterprise”. Nationally the number of women arrested for DUI was up nearly 29 percent between 1998 and 2007, while the arrests of men were down 7.5 percent. Locally, fewer women than men are arrested for DUI, although the trend is upward. For example, since 1999, the number of women arrested for DUI in Riverside County increased from 30 to 39 and from 44 to 66 in San Bernardino County.

Driving under the influence or DUI – whether it involves alcohol, recreational drugs or prescription drugs — is a serious crime in California. According to California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a): “It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.” The same code section also states that it is illegal for any person with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more to drive a vehicle.
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An Orange County man has been arrested after police in Irvine found more than 200 ecstasy tablets and 2.5 gallons of GHB ( a common “club drug’) in his vehicle. According to a news report, police found the 38-year-old man parked near an Irvine intersection. A vehicle search resulted in the drugs being found. Police later performed a search of the man’s home and found more GHB and illegal steroids, the news report said. According to the article, the man was arrested for possessing a controlled substance for sale. This is most likely due to the large quantities of the drugs, which is an indication of possession for sales activity.

A drug offense in California refers to the possession, use, sale or furnishing of any drug or intoxicating substance or drug paraphernalia that is prohibited by law. Most drug offenses in California are now felonies. Possession of drugs for transportation or sale is a serious felony under California law. Currently, there are also more than 100 different types of anabolic steroids that have been developed, and each requires a prescription to be used legally in the United States. Illegal possession of anabolic steroids is also a crime.
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Internet sex crimes in Southern California and throughout the rest of the country are becoming more and more common as Web sites such as Craigslist gain popularity. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, an 18-year-old Orange County man was arrested for possibly having a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old boy who asked for an iPod Touch in exchange for sex on Craigslist. The 18-year-old San Clemente man apparently responded to the boy’s ad saying he wasn’t 18 yet, when he had in fact turned 18 in December. The 18-year-old is facing several charges including lewd acts with a minor, oral copulation with a person under 18 and luring a child with intent to commit a crime and possessing child pornography.

Computer records are apparently an important piece of evidence in this case. In most cases that involve child pornography or soliciting sexual acts involving children, e-mail records, text messages, and cell phone records may be used as prime evidence. In this case, the defendant is facing significant felony sex crime charges. If convicted, he faces a lengthy sentence in state prison, hefty penalties, and required registration as a sex offender, possibly, for the rest of his life. The individual is only 18, but the consequences he might face from these sex crime charges can last an entire lifetime.
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DUI checkpoints in Orange County recently nabbed several drivers who were said to have been driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs in Laguna and Irvine, according to the Orange County Register. Many of these DUI checkpoints in Orange County are funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety and local cities. City and county police agencies get these funds specifically to conduct DUI enforcement.

What happens if you are arrested at a DUI checkpoint? Do you have a defense? It is certainly possible that you have a very good defense in your case. Although sobriety checkpoints or DUI checkpoints are legal, the procedures used by law enforcement may not be carried out properly. There are rules set forth by courts that may not always be followed by police officials. For example, one rule is that police DUI checkpoint should provide adequate advance warning to the motorist of the roadblock ahead. In other words, the driver should have an alternate route of travel “escape route” should the driver wish to avoid the checkpoint. But what most law enforcement agencies do is they either don’t have this escape route and if they do, they place a squad car at that point to discourage motorists from “escaping.”
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Drug crimes, especially those involving marijuana or concentrated cannabis, can be extremely complex and controversial because the laws involving these drugs are convoluted and difficult to understand. The San Bernardino Sun recently reported that the vice principal of a school in San Bernardino, who was arrested on charges of possessing marijuana for sale, told police that she was using the drug for medicinal purposes. Officials arrested the woman after finding 12 ounces of low-grade marijuana and 2.8 grams of a high grade variety in her SUV. The woman told officials that she started using medical marijuana two years ago for a bad knee. According to the news report, this woman did not have a doctor authorization document at the time of her arrest.

The California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 or Proposition 215 legalized the possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use with a doctor’s recommendation. Police cannot arrest or charge a person who has a doctor’s prescription. Often referred to as a “Medical Marijuana Card” for marijuana use. Still, we often see law enforcement agencies continue to arrest individuals who possess even small amounts of marijuana for medical use. When it comes to medical marijuana, the law is complex and can seem unclear because although Prop 215 allows medical marijuana in California, yet the drug is still illegal under federal law.
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A 32-year-old man is facing criminal charges in Orange County for driving under the influence and hit-and-run, according to a news report in the Daily Pilot. The man apparently struck and injured a pedestrian while drunk driving and then took off and jumped into the ocean in Newport Beach to evade police and avoid getting arrested for DUI. He was, however, spotted in the ocean by a police helicopter and apprehended. Police said the 48-year-old woman who was struck suffered moderate injuries in the hit and run collision. The man is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and could face up to three years and eight months in prison if convicted of felony DUI charges.

The consequences of a DUI can be devastating, particularly if the accident involved injuries and is grouped with other criminal charges such as hit-and-run. This is why seeking legal assistance from an experienced Orange County DUI lawyer is of the utmost importance to ensure that your rights are protected. In cases where the victim dies, a defendant in a DUI accident case may even face murder or vehicular manslaughter charges.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a serious crime. A driver who is involved in an auto accident in California shall stop at the scene, exchange information (car insurance, identity, contact) and render aid to the injured party if possible. You are required to stop by law, even if the accident was not your fault.
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Police in East Los Angeles arrested four men in connection with a series of armed taco truck robberies, the Long Beach Press Telegram reports. All men were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in at least 22 felony armed robberies of taco trucks beginning in April. Police said two of the men were positively identified in a photo lineup as being responsible for the June 28th robbery and felony assault with a deadly weapon. Three others were also identified shortly afterward. According to the newspaper story, there is still one robbery suspect remaining at large.

Robbery is a serious felony crime with serious consequences in California. It is classified as a violent theft crime because most robberies involve violence or the imminent threat of violence or injury to a victim. California Penal Code section 211 defines robbery as “the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.” If use of a weapon or firearm is involved in the theft or if there is gang involvement, defendants may face “enhancements,” that could lead to much stiffer penalties.
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An 18-year-old Orange County man was reportedly the first juvenile to be charged as an adult with murder in a drunk driving crash. According to this news report, he was 17 at the time of the Orange County DUI accident, which killed his teen passenger, a Tustin girl. An Orange County jury found the teen driver guilty of one count of second-degree murder for being drunk behind the wheel and one misdemeanor count of driving without a license. His driver’s license had apparently been suspended the day before the fatal car accident.

The teen driver reportedly had several drinks during a party in his Santa Ana home and crashed into a pole while driving his Mercedes between 102 and 112 mph, prosecutors said. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.11 percent, which is above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. The teen, convicted of DUI and second-degree murder, faces 15 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced in October.
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