Recently in DUI Cases Category

It may be illegal to operate a boat or a personal watercraft while you are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, but you won't lose your driver's license over it.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has agreed to pay $5.6 million to 753 vessel operators for suspending their vehicle driver's licenses because they were convicted of boating under the influence (BUI), reports The Log.

In another case of deputies behaving badly, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Michael Anthony Grundy has been relieved of duty without pay after he was charged with two felony counts related to driving under the influence and another count for fleeing the scene, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Grundy has pled not guilty.

The charges stem from a January incident where Grundy allegedly drove into another car and injured the driver while he had a blood-alcohol content level that was twice the legal limit and was under the influence of another drug.

It's never a good idea to show up to court drunk for a DUI hearing. Not only can a person face additional criminal charges for such an action, but a judge may also not allow for court proceedings to continue if the defendant shows signs of intoxication in court. Bail for the defendant can also be revoked if he or she shows up to court drunk, as it can be considered a violation of the conditions of bail.

Last week, a Santa Ana judge postponed sentencing for 37-year-old Allan James Waters of Laguna Niguel after he appeared to be drunk in court. KTLA reported that officials took Waters into custody when a court bailiff said that Waters smelled of alcohol. His bail was then increased from $100,000 to $250,000.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Moran was convicted of driving under the influence after he crashed his sheriff’s SUV into a smaller car in 2008. The deputy was able to keep his job, but a judge sentenced him to six months of imprisonment, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Yet Moran was not the only one that was punished for the DUI crash that seriously injured another driver. Los Angeles County taxpayers will also have to pay for Moran’s mistake. Last week, the county Board of Supervisors approved a $4.75 million settlement in this case. The money will go to to Elias Aldana and Savanah Kirifi, the two accident victims who were in the other vehicle.

Victims of drunk driving accidents can be of any age and may not even be in a vehicle at the time of a fatal accident. The Los Angeles Times reports that a 5-year-old boy was killed by an alleged drunk driver in a Huntington Park neighborhood on Sunday, as he was crossing the street. As of Monday May 16, an autopsy for the child was pending.

The 5-year-old victim from Montebello, who died at the scene of the accident, was identified as Christian Antonio Martinez. The suspect in this case, Robert M. Rivera, did not resist arrest and was immediately booked on suspicion of DUI. Apparently the suspect and the victim were neighbors and lived on the same street, Poplar Place, between Long Beach Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue.

A driver in Los Angeles can face severe penalties when there’s a DUI accident that results in injuries or death. KTLA News reports that man who drove his car through a group of several cyclists while he was drunk two years ago was convicted of second-degree murder on Wednesday along with counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.

Marco Antonio Valencia, 22, now faces a life sentence in prison for the conviction. Apparently, the defendant had been on probation for two previous DUI convictions at the time that he hit the cyclists on Bouquet Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest. After the accident, Valencia drove off, but was arrested just 1.5 hours later.

A drunk driving crash that results in death or injury can lead to criminal charges that are much more severe than a misdemeanor DUI. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports that a 28-year-old man from Covina pleaded guilty to two counts of murder last week in connection with a 2010 DUI crash that killed two of his passengers.

The defendant, Alan McConnell, now faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison when he returns to Pomona Superior Court on April 22. Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said that McConnell had a blood-alcohol level that was nearly twice the legal limit in a crash that killed 22-year-old Telassie Dague and 20-year-old Renee Hardy, both of Alta Loma.

Drunk driving accidents unfortunately occur all the time, but most people probably wouldn’t expect a city official or law enforcement officer to be involved in such accidents.

KTLA News reports that 38-year-old John Hines, a Long Beach Fire Department captain, is now facing felony DUI charges and hit-and-run charges after allegedly leaving the scene of an accident involving a bicyclist. The collision occurred on April 1 in Seal Beach at Westminster Avenue near Bolsa Chica Street. Witnesses to the accident said that they saw Hines’ Chevrolet truck swerve into the bike lane and hit the bicyclist while driving about 60 mph.

A movie and television music editor was sentenced last week to just one year in jail and five years of probation after killing a 72-year-old man in a 2009 drunk driving accident, despite the victim's family pushing for a harsher punishment. The Los Angeles Times reports that the sentencing of editor Mark Skillingberg came after a no contest plea to a charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.

Skillingberg's accident took place when he was reportedly driving at about 20 miles above the posted speed limit with a blood alcohol level that was twice the legal limit in California. If Skillingberg completes his probation without incident, then the felony conviction will eventually be reduced to a misdemeanor and expunged from his record.

Most impaired driving suspects will have to appear in court when they've been charged with DUI-related offenses. However, in some extreme cases, the defendant can go through court procedures in an alternative location.

The Los Angeles Daily Breeze reports that 21-year-old Anthony Louis Fragoso recently pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence from a hospital bed, as he was seriously injured in the car crash that killed two others on the 91 Freeway in Anaheim.