Six arrested for DWI in GF overnight

MORNING UPDATE -- Six arrested for DWI in GF overnight

GLENS FALLS -- Six people were arrested by Glens Falls Police for driving while intoxicated in a 10-hour period Thursday and Friday, including a man who hit another vehicle and tried to flee, police said.

The driver in that case, James V. Rispoli, 34, of Queensbury hit another vehicle from behind a Bay and Lexington streets at 7:12 p.m., then drove off, said Glens Falls Police Sgt. John Winchell. The other driver was not hurt.

A witness who saw the crash followed him, and he drove north to Quaker Road, headed east and then came back into Glens Falls and parked his car in a driveway on Ridge Street, Winchell said. The witness followed him there, and police took Rispoli into custody without incident, according to Winchell.

Rispoli refused to take a breath test, and was charged with misdemeanor DWI and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. He was arraigned in City Court and sent to Warren County Jail for lack of bail.

According to police, arrested later in the night were;

* Michael F. Smith, 34, of Queen Ann Way, Queensbury, who was charged with aggravated DWI, a misdemeanor, after he was pulled over at 4:44 a.m. for going through a red light at the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Glen Street, Winchell said. His blood-alcohol content was found to be 0.20 percent, more than double the 0.08 percent threshold for DWI. He was released pending prosecution in City Court. 

* Ryan V. Ross, 24, of Glens Falls, who was also charged with aggravated DWI after he was pulled over for speeding 52 mph in a 30 mph zone on Warren Street at 12:30 a.m. His BAC was found to be 0.19 percent, and he was released pending prosecution in City Court.

* Wesley C. Garnsey, 25, of South Glens Falls was charged with misdemeanor DWI after he was seen driving out of his lane in Centennial Circle and speeding 47 mph in a 30 mph zone on Glen Street. His BAC was found to be 0.17 percent and was released.

* Danielle R. Nassivera, 30, of Moreau was arrested at 3:58 a.m. when she was seen driving without headlights on Elm Street. Her BAC was found to be 0.15 percent and she was charged with misdemeanor DWI and released.

* Matthew T. Burke, 24, of Saratoga Springs was charged at 3:32 a.m. after he was seen going through a red light on Broad Street. His BAC was found to be 0.12 percent and he was also charged with misdemeanor DWI and released. 

The arrests were made by Winchell and Glens Falls Police officers Joe Boisclair, Dan Habshi, Tony Lydon and Shawn Lovelace.

Winchell said police have had other overnight periods with six or more DWI arrests, though it has been a while since they had a night wth that many arrests.

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Legislator pushes for tougher DWI laws

Legislator pushes for tougher DWI laws

A state senator whose family was touched by a fatal DWI accident is continuing his fight against drunk drivers by pushing for tougher laws.

Sen. Kent Cravens (R-Albuquerque) is on a crusade that would put more ignition interlocks into cars of drunk drivers and put them in earlier.

"If a person is caught driving a car without an ignition interlock - and they don't have an ignition interlock license - in other words they're just completely driving on a revoked license - that vehicle would be immobilized and actually subject to forfeiture," he said.

Ken Cravens is the brother of Paul Cravens, whose family was killed by Gordon House in a DWI crash in 1992.

Another Cravens bill would require an interlock during the time between a DWI arrest and the trial or guilty plea.

About 1,000 people a year in New Mexico are arrested for DWI during that period. 

Opponents of the measure said it would be unfair--that the law would punish people before they are convicted.

The Cravens bills are scheduled for a crucial hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Saturday.

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Cazenovia woman charged with DWI

Cazenovia woman charged with DWI

CAZENOVIA, N.Y. -- A Cazenovia woman who first made news three years ago for providing alcohol to high schoolers now faces charges of driving drunk.

State Police stopped Kelly Lobrutto, 47, Friday night for a traffic violation and then arrested her for DWI. 

Lobrutto was arrested back in 2006 for buying alcohol for an underage party at her house attended by more than 20 Cazenovia High School students. She was sentenced to probation in that case.

State Police say she will be back in court in a couple weeks to answer to the DWI charge.

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Interlock pics catch DWI cheats

Interlock pics catch DWI cheats

Photos show who blows into mouthpiece

Convicted drunk drivers will find beating the system to be more difficult now that ignition interlocks come equipped with cameras.

Judges in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque will now start ordering some drunk drivers to use the camera-equipped devices.

The devices require someone convicted of DWI to blow into a mouthpiece to confirm they have not consumed alcohol before the ignition can be started.

Traditional interlock devices have been successful in ensuring most people with a history of DWI don't get behind the wheel drunk again, according to the state. However many of them have found ways around it often getting friends or family to blow into the interlock.

The camera device doesn't allow that. It takes a picture of the person who blows into it and then downloads the picture and information on blood alcohol level, so that judges, attorneys and others can see it.

That assures the correct person is behind the wheel.

Metro Court Chief Judge Judith Nakamura said the interlock cameras will not be required for everyone. A judge will have the discretion in which cases to order them, she said.

Unfortunately, Nakamura added, the cameras are necessary for many defendants.

"There are always people who are going to try and beat the system, and it's certainly important to use this tool with those folks," she said. "Ideally it would be great to have a police officer or probation officer following people convicted of crimes around.

"That's not possible, so for those who are trying to cheat in this manner, this is a great tool to have."

At this point the state is against making the cameras mandatory. State officials said in most cases the current interlocks are efficient, which is why they are leaving the decision up to a judge. 

Using the camera interlock costs the driver an extra $1 a day. Offenders are responsible for paying for the device, but if they can't afford it there are state funds to help.

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Pivotal DWI figure set for parole

Pivotal DWI figure set for parole

Christmas Eve crash killed mother, daughters.

The drunken driver who wiped out most of a family 16 years ago and spurred the cause of DWI reform in New Mexico will soon be back on the streets.

Gordon House of Thoreau, convicted of four counts of vehicular homicide, has now served 11 years of his 22-year sentence. The state Parole Board meeting Friday is expected to set the conditions for his release next month.

"Gordon House could spend the rest of his life in jail," Paul Cravens told KRQE News 13 Thursday. "It wouldn't bring Mel and the girls back to me."

On Christmas Eve 1992 an intoxicated House driving his pickup truck east in the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 slammed head-on into the Cravens' family on Albuquerque's West Side. Melanie Cravens and her daughters Kandyce, 9, Erin, 8, and Kacee Woodard, 5, died at the scene.

Husband and father Paul Cravens survived with serious injuries.

"I always miss Melanie and the girls," Cravens said Thursday. "It's been 16 years since they got killed.

"I pray a lot. I spend a lot of time talking to the Lord."

House's blood-alcohol level was reported to be 0.18, more than twice the current legal limit for presumed intoxication. After two mistrials, a Taos jury convicted him in 1994.

He has now served his time.

"It's completely out of our control that the state of New Mexico has laws that apply to the length of the sentence and the application of good time," Parole Board Director Ella Frank said. "We must follow the law."

Cravens said he's forgiven House and takes some comfort that his family's death may have saved countless other lives.

"If he's done his time then he really needs to get a chance to get out, live his life, enjoy his family united and move forward," Cravens said.

After the tragedy Cravens' mother in law Nadine Milford became a tireless activist fighting for and achieving tougher DWI laws. Those included lowering the legal level of intoxication and requiring ignition interlocks for first-time offenders.

Contacted by News 13 she said she was emotional to talk saying didn't expect House to be released this soon.

Cravens said he is grateful for Milford and her work but added the time is right.

"And I just think about Mel and the girls and how much fun we had to together, and I kind of think that they're up there looking at this and enjoying themselves walking with the Lord."

Frank said the parole board on Friday will order the strictest terms of release for House in the beginning for the safety of the community and to help him readjust to life on the outside.

House is expected to be on parole for two years and probation for three more.

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5 years in prison for DWI crash

5 years in prison for DWI crash

The 2006 hit-run accident maimed a woman.  Her family said the sentence was too light.

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - A postal worker lost both her legs, her eyesight and normal brain function 21/2 years ago when a drunken driver slammed into her, pinning her between her mail truck and his vehicle. 

Maureen DePrince's independence was gone. Not long afterward, so was her marriage. 

Yesterday, the man who admitted driving while drunk and sleepy before he smashed into her was sentenced in Superior Court to five years in prison, although he could be released sooner for good behavior. 

Allen Henry Miller, 31, of Schenectady, N.Y., pleaded guilty in December to aggravated assault and drunken driving in connection with the July 2006 crash in Ventnor. 

Miller had been out partying and drinking at nightclubs on July 23. The next morning, he sluggishly got into a car to drive a friend home. His blood alcohol level at the time was 0.083, just above New Jersey's legal definition of drunken driving of 0.08. 

"I was getting tired, fatigued," he said. "I should have pulled over, but I didn't. I said to myself, 'I can make it.' " 

The crash pinned DePrince, then 38, severing one of her legs; the other had to be amputated at a hospital. The Buena Vista Township resident also lost her eyesight due to shock and severe blood loss. 

Miller ran from the scene but was apprehended soon afterward. Authorities say a passing volunteer firefighter spotted DePrince's crumpled, bleeding body and started first aid, probably saving her life. 

Before he was sentenced, Miller apologized to DePrince, who sat in a wheelchair surrounded by sobbing family members. 

"I never meant for this to happen," he said. "If I could change places with her, yes, I would. I hope one day she forgives me. I'm very sorry. I wish I could change it, but I can't." 

A member of the prosecutor's office read a statement on DePrince's behalf just before Miller was sentenced. 

"I will never be able to see my loved ones again, never feel the sand on my feet as I walk along the beach, hand in hand with my husband, watching our dog frolic in the water, chasing his stick," DePrince wrote. "My memories are all I have left, but sometimes they appear cloudy due to the brain trauma I suffered. 

"How do you go on with your life? I have been robbed of everything I held dear," she wrote. "Now I must face the future knowing that my marriage has failed, and I didn't want to become a burden to my family and everyone I love.

" . . . I hope you never have to feel the pain and suffering I have to endure each day of my life." 

The plea agreement Miller reached with prosecutors calls for him to receive credit for the 21/2 years he has spent in jail since the crash. He could be released in about two years. 

DePrince's family was infuriated by the sentence. 

"Five years in jail, and my daughter's life is totally destroyed," DePrince's father, Joe Buscher, said. "She'll never have some of the things he'll be enjoying in jail. The courts and laws of this state have to do more to make this more of a punishment." 

Judge Michael Donio said the crash was "the most horrific" he had ever seen that did not involve a death. 

"People who get behind the wheel of an automobile after drinking, they have to know it's like having a gun in your hand," he said. "It could go off."

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Teen charged with DWI

Teen charged with DWI in crash seriously injuring one

A 17-year-old is facing DWI charges and another teen has serious head injuries after a crash in Ontario County. Ontario County Sheriffs said 17-year-old Dylan Jobson from Honeoye was driving on County Road 36 in Canadice around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday when he lost control on the ice-covered road.

Jobson's car went off the road and hit a tree along the passenger side. Jobson suffered cuts to his hands and was taken toF.F. Thompson Hospitalin Canandaigua where he was treated and released. Jobson had two passengers and both were taken toStrong Hospitalfor head injuries.

Police said 17-year-old Austin White, from Hemlock, was riding in the front seat. He was not wearing his seatbelt and suffered a serious head injury. Police said he was unconscious when they arrived on scene. He is in the Intensive Care Unit at Strong.

Kelly Hoertz, 17 from Honeoye, was riding in the backseat. She had face and head injuries. Police are not sure if she was wearing her seatbelt. Hoertz was taken to F.F. Thompson and then transferred to Strong for treatment of her head injury.

Jobson was charged with driving while intoxicated, unsafe speed and driving after 9 p.m. on a DJ license.

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