Suspect in fatal crash with cop had conditional license

Suspect in fatal crash with cop had conditional license

Jose Borbon, the Plainview man who is accused of causing a drunken driving accident that killed Suffolk police Officer Glen Ciano early yesterday, was driving on a conditional driver's license issued after he was charged last month with a DWI in Nassau County.

After Borbon, 23, was charged with DWI and his license was suspended, he petitioned the state Department of Motor Vehicles for a conditional license for those charged with drunken driving offenses, said Eric Phillips, spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice. The DMV on Feb. 5 approved Borbon for the conditional license, which allows users to drive in six distinct circumstances.

The conditional license allows those facing DWI charges to drive to and from work, rehabilitation centers, school or their children's school, a doctor's office and the DMV. It also gives the motorist a weekly three-hour window in which to drive to conduct errands like grocery shopping, according to the DMV's Web site. 

The conditional license is issued solely at the discretion of the DMV in Albany, which does not conduct in-person interviews before deciding whether to approve such a request.

The Suffolk district attorney's office could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Through Phillips, Rice said local prosecutors should have a say in who is issued a conditional license. Phillips said Rice has lobbied to make obtaining a conditional license more difficult. The DMV is reviewing the matter and will issue a report in May, Phillips said. "District Attorney Rice is hopeful that the report will include the types of changes that will keep licenses out of the hands of our community's most dangerous drivers," Phillips said in an e-mail. 

DMV officials did not immediately respond to messages yesterday. 

Borbon's Nassau DWI charge stems from Jan. 4, when he was pulled over at 4:25 a.m. in Plainview after he failed to signal and ignored a no-turn-on-red sign while making a right turn, Phillips said. Borbon's blood-alcohol level was measured at .17 percent, more than twice the legal limit to drive in New York, Phillips said. 

According to court records, Borbon was charged with drunken driving, as well as holding more than one license, criminal possession of a weapon, not signaling and failure to obey a traffic device. His next court date in that case is in April.

Nassau officers said they also found a switchblade in Borbon's pocket during that arrest, which led to a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. 

Drivers who are convicted of drunken driving charges in New York may enter the DMV's Drinking Driver rehabilitation program. But because Borbon's case was still pending, he had not yet entered that program. 

Borbon also was involved in four separate accidents in 2006, records show, and his license had been suspended three times, including once this year.

Also in 2007, Borbon was convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession in Hillsborough County, Fla.

Borbon's attorney, William Petrillo of Rockville Centre, wouldn't comment on Borbon's criminal history or driving record.

View Original>>>