DWI Blogs

St. Petersburg, Florida -- The assistant city attorney for St. Petersburg has been arrested for driving under the influence.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office website states that Mark Winn was arrested early Sunday morning for DUI and refusing to submit to a sobriety test. Both charges are misdemeanors.

The Tampa Bay Times reports Winn was pulled over at 32nd Avenue N and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, where the officer observed bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol.

The Sheriff's Office site lists two previous arrests for DUI. In 2006, Winn was arrested for a DUI crash, while in 2008 he was arrested for DUI and again refusing to submit to testing. The Times reports his license was suspended on both occasions.

"There will be some action taken," Winn's boss, City Attorney John Wolfe told the Times. "I have to balance out his value to the city and the seriousness of the third arrest."



Source : http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2014/12/02/st-pete-city-attorney-arrested-dui-third-time/19778263/

He's no wiseguy.

Cake Boss's Buddy Valastro took to Twitter on Monday to apologize for driving while intoxicated last month.

"I thought I was fine to drive, but I wasn't. I put people in danger. I am very disappointed in myself," he wrote in one Tweet, adding, "I'll never get behind the wheel of a car again, even after one sip."

Police arrested the TLC star Nov. 13 in New York City. Valastro, owner of Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey, had been spotted swerving in his yellow Corvette just after 1 a.m. His blood-alcohol level was just above the legal limit.

The State Highway Patrol fired a trooper who was accused of driving while heavily intoxicated and hitting two parked cars in the Short North.

Jeremy Garner, 35, of the South Side, was charged with drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to control after the Feb.16 incident on Starr Avenue near N. High Street.

The motorcycle officer was fired for conduct unbecoming an officer last week, after an investigation by the patrol. That investigation revealed other troopers with him at Skully’s Music Diner noticed he appeared to be drunk and unsuccessfully tried to prevent him from driving.


Source : http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/03/25/trooper-is-fired-after-latest-drunken-driving-arrest.html

INDIANAPOLIS — Police say they found multiple prescription drugs in Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s vehicle after he was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving.

Police in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel say Irsay was stopped late Sunday after he was spotted driving slowly, coming to a stop in the roadway and failing to use a turn signal.

Police say the 54-year-old Irsay failed several roadside field sobriety tests before he was arrested. Police didn’t release any information about a blood-alcohol test being given to Irsay.

Carmel police said the drugs found in Irsay’s vehicle weren’t associated with any prescription bottles found inside.

Irsay is being held at the Hamilton County Jail under $22,500 bond. A spokeswoman for Irsay declined immediate comment. An NFL spokesman says he is subject to discipline.


Source: http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans/2014/03/colts-owner-jim-irsay-arrested-for-dwi/

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Illinois State Police say two people are accused of drunken driving after a car rear-ended a trooper’s cruiser during a southwestern Illinois traffic stop.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports the three weren’t seriously injured during the wreck that happened around 3:30 a.m. Saturday along Interstate 64 in East St. Louis.
Trooper Calvin Dye says the officer was completing paperwork in his patrol car while 32-year-old Brent Daugherty of St. Louis was in the back seat after being pulled over for suspected drunken driving. That’s when a sport utility vehicle driven by 28-year-old Vastie Jenkins of O’Fallon hit the trooper’s car from behind.
The officer’s name wasn’t released.


Source: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/03/10/dui-charges-after-crash-with-state-police-car/

ORCHARD PARK (WIVB) DWI charges were upgraded to class D felony charges for 24 year-old Laura Lukasiak following her DWI arrest Saturday evening.

OP Police say they responded to a report of a possible intoxicated driver just after 7 p.m. Saturday.

Lukasiak, of Orchard Park, was operating a 2008 Saturn northbound on North Buffalo St. from the Village of Orchard Park. Police located the vehicle a short time later on Orchard Park Road and was observed speeding and weaving out of the lane.

The vehicle was pulled over and Lukasiak was given field sobriety tests and subsequently arrested for DWI. She was returned to the police station where she refused to submit to a breathalyzer test.

The DWI charge was upgraded to a class D felony due to two prior driving while intoxicated convictions in the past 10 years. One in Orchard Park one in West Seneca.

Lukasiak was arraigned in the town of Orchard Park court and was released after posting $1000 bail.


Source:http://wivb.com/2014/03/09/op-woman-arrested-for-felony-dwi/

SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) — Police arrested a Santa Rosa man with 19 DUI convictions over 30 years for driving on a suspended license Friday afternoon.
Petaluma police, who were conducting a special Habitual DUI Driver Stakeout Program that targets repeat DUI offenders in Sonoma County, received a tip recently that 68-year-old William Beall was driving his Mercedes on a suspended license, Sgt. Jim Stephenson said.
Police staked out Beall’s Oak Lane home in Santa Rosa and saw him drive away around 2 p.m. He was not intoxicated when he was pulled over, Stephenson said.
Beall is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning in Sonoma County Superior Court.



Source:http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/03/08/north-bay-man-with-19-dui-convictions-arrested-for-driving-on-suspended-license/

KULPMONT - A Shamokin man was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol following a crash in the 900 block of Chestnut Street early Friday morning that left the street littered with debris and one vehicle atop a snowbank.

Kulpmont Police Patrolman Patrick McAndrew said charges are pending against Joseph Payne, 29, who refused a blood test shortly after crashing his car into a parked car at 12:30 a.m.

McAndrew said Payne, who was uninjured, was operating a 2001 Saturn west on Chestnut Street (Route 61) when the right front of his vehicle struck the left rear of a parked Saturn, owned by David Dallabrida, of 922 Chestnut St., causing extensive damage to both vehicles.

The Dallabrida vehicle was moved partially onto the sidewalk and snow pile and into the back of a parked Jeep Cherokee, owned by Patrick Burns, 936 Chestnut St., causing damage to the front end of the Saturn and the right rear of the Cherokee.

McAndrew said Payne claimed he lost control when he hit a patch of black ice while looking down at his phone.


Source: http://newsitem.com/news/man-in-custody-after-suspected-dui-crash-in-kulpmont-1.1646846

MACHIAS – A 39-year-old Machias man was arrested by state police for felony drunken driving after he allegedly caused a rear-end crash Thursday at the intersection of Lakeview Boulevard and State Route 16 in Machias.

Steven Howe was arrested on the felony charge after it was confirmed he had a previous DWI conviction in the last decade. He also was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He faces further proceedings in Machias Town Court in several weeks. No one was injured in the accident.



Source:http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/cattaraugus-county/machias-man-arrested-for-dwi-following-two-car-crash-20140307

Witnesses say a Richmond, Virginia, police officer helped his daughter avoid drunken driving charges early Sunday morning after she nearly struck some pedestrians after running two stop signs.

Residents had gone outside about 12:30 a.m. after someone struck a parked SUV when they saw another driver speed through a stop sign without slowing down.

“We were forced to flee the street towards the sidewalk as we realized that this was not another cop rushing to the scene, but a driver who has clearly failed to notice a stop sign, an automobile accident, and flashing police lights, and is headed straight for a head-on collision with the wrecked SUV,” said witness S. Preston Duncan, of Church Hill, in a Facebook post shared by Richmond police.
He said the driver slammed on the brakes of her car, swerved around the damaged vehicles, and nearly struck a parked police cruiser with its sirens flashing.

“She was crying hysterically, hitting her head on the steering wheel,” Duncan said. “At one point she got out of the car and spilled the entire contents of her purse on the street.”

Police repeatedly asked the woman to get back into her car, and Duncan said he and least one other person heard one of the officer’s agree to speak to the driver’s father on a cell phone if she called him.


Source:http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/05/cell-phone-video-shows-virginia-cop-help-daughter-avoid-dui-charges-witnesses-say/

A Seminole County deputy arrested over the weekend on suspicion of driving under the influence nearly fell over during a sobriety test, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report released Wednesday.

Robert Marc Futch, 42, was arrested early Sunday after a trooper saw him speeding and drifting into lanes on Orange Blossom Trail.

The trooper said Futch's eyes were glassy and bloodshot, his words slurred and he smelled like alcohol.
Futch performed several sobriety tests, and the trooper said he nearly fell over during the "walk and turn" exercise.

Futch, a road deputy who has worked for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office since 2001, told the trooper the arrest "was going to kill his career."



Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-seminole-deputy-arrested-dui-20140305,0,3667692.story

EL CAJON - A woman who was drunk when she lost control of her car, triggering a series of crashes on Interstate 8 near Alpine that killed two people, was sentenced Monday to nine years in state prison.

Sunny Hall, 31, pleaded guilty in December to two counts each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the June 11, 2012, deaths of 25- year-old substitute teacher and UCSD graduate student Angela August of Alpine and 59-year-old Calexico teacher Jimmy Arevalo of El Centro.

More than two dozen supporters of the August family showed up in court wearing buttons with a photo of Angela August and the words "For the love of Angela."

A hush fell over the courtroom when Dawn August addressed the judge.

"I have waited 630 days to have this opportunity to speak on behalf of my only beloved daughter, Angela. Her story needs to be told and heard. Angela was a bright, shiny, free-spirited star, artist and scholar," she said.

Angela August was just days away from graduating with honors from the University of California San Diego when she rolled her car in the median of Interstate 8 near Alpine. Moments later, Jimmy Arevalo stopped his car and called 911 to help.


Source:http://www.10news.com/news/sentencing-today-for-woman-who-killed-2-in-drunk-driving-crash-030314

YONKERS (WABC) -- A Yonkers man is under arrest on a DWI charge after police say they prevented him from driving the wrong way on the Saw Mill Parkway Tuesday morning.

Westchester County Police say Kenneth Breil, 42, was observed asleep at the wheel of a Chevy Tahoe facing east on Executive Boulevard adjacent to the Saw Mill River Parkway.

An officer knocked on the car's windows and shouted at the driver but was initially unable to awaken him.

When Breil awakened, according to police, he ignored the officer's command to shut the vehicle off and then drove away, going through a red light and crossing both the southbound and northbound lanes of the Saw Mill River Parkway.

The vehicle then drove the wrong way on the exit ramp used by motorists exiting from the northbound lanes of travel.

An officer used his patrol car to block the Tahoe from driving from the exit ramp into the lanes of oncoming traffic.

Breil was charged with a felony count of Driving While Intoxicated due to a previous DWI conviction. He was also issued several summonses.


Source:http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/northern_suburbs&id=9454724

The woman accused of burning down The Senator, one of the world's largest baldcypress trees, has been arrested again — this time on a DUI charge out of Maitland, according to an arrest report.

Sara Barnes, 28, was pulled over Friday afternoon on U.S. Highway 17-92 after she made a wheel-squealing wide turn onto Horatio Avenue, before cutting off another vehicle, the report states.

The arresting officer reported that Barnes' speech was slurred, her breath smelled strongly of alcohol, and she handed over a real-estate brochure, rather than her registration and insurance.
Barnes, who admitted drinking vodka before driving, failed several field-sobriety tests, the report states. A pair of blood-alcohol tests registered .192 and .194, more than double the legal limit.

On the way to Orange County's DUI center, Barnes began to cry, telling the arresting officer that she "did jail time for burning down the 'Senator' but she actually loves trees," the report says.


Source:http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-sara-barnes-senator-suspect-dui-20140302,0,778195.story

Palm Beach police arrested a resident early Saturday morning and charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspendedlicense and leaving the scene of a crash that involved property damage.
A doorman at The Biltmore told police Dorian Amy Lipman, 60, was walking unsteadily as she entered the condominium. When she left, Lipman got into her vehicle, drove it forward, then abruptly put it in reverse, according to police. The car crashed into an awning support pole, causing a light dome to fall and break, said Sgt. Tom Melnichok.
The light fixture has a $400 value, he said.
Around 1:30 a.m., police stopped Lipman as she exited her car in a garage at Breakers Row, where she lives. Lipman failed a number of field sobriety tests, used profane language and yelled at officers, Melnichok said. As they always do, police took two breath samples.
Her blood alcohol readings were 1.60 and 1.57, Melnichok said. “She was double the legal limit,” he said.
Lipman was arrested and taken to the Palm Beach County Jail. She was released on her own recognizance without bond around 10 a.m. Saturday.

Source: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/crime-law/60-year-old-palm-beach-woman-arrested-on-dui-charg/nd4Qj/

SAND SPRINGS, Oklahoma - A Sand Springs woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and child endangerment after police say she collided with two cars Friday afternoon while picking her son up from school.
Kristy Larie Terhune was arrested after she was in a traffic collision near 200 North Wilson, according to Sand Springs Police.

Witnesses told an investigating officer they had seen Terhune driving across lanes before she sideswiped a different car in the 1700 block of West Wekiwa then continued driving to North Wilson.

The officer interviewed the 36-year-old woman and said her speech was slow and lethargic.

When he asked her what caused her to collide with the other vehicle, Terhune reportedly said she had just picked up her son at school and may have been talking to him

Police asked Terhune if she was on any prescription drugs, and she said she took several prescriptions regularly including Flexeril, Xanax and Percocet, the arrest report states. The officer did field sobriety tests and said Terhune stumbled and swayed while performing them.

The driver of second car she had hit said they did not want to file an accident report because their car wasn't damaged. The driver of the car she had sideswiped showed up and handed police the driver side mirror off Terhune's vehicle which had been knocked off the car.

Terhune was booked on complaints of DUI drugs, first offense; child endangerment, and failure to carry insurance verification. She was released on bond.


Source: http://www.newson6.com/story/24860263/sand-springs-woman-arrested-for-dui-after-hitting-two-cars

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
A man was arrested early Friday morning for driving while intoxicated, making this incident his sixth DWI charge.

It happened at approximately 2:11am at 4100 Florida Blvd in Baton Rouge on February 28th.

Police say 51-year-old Ronald Ray Sims was heading west in a 1997 Acura with his headlights off. Authorities say the vehicle was seen traveling in and out of the lane, and when Sims was pulled over, he showed signs of extreme intoxication.

Sims took a sobriety test and did poorly, and he refused a Breathalyzer test. He was charged with his 6th DWI, reckless operation, drinking while in a motor vehicle, open container violation, headlights violation charges, and other traffic violations.

According to the probable cause report, officials disclosed the dates of the other DWI charges received by Sims. There were two separate incidents on April 30th and May 16th of 2010.


Source: http://www.bayoubuzz.com/louisiana-news/baton-rouge-news/item/620637-br-man-receives-6th-dwi-arrest

Missouri State University basketball player Emmanuel Addo was arrested for suspected driving while intoxicated at 1:59 a.m. today, according to Springfield police.

The traffic stop occurred at Jefferson Avenue and St. Louis Street in downtown Springfield, according to police spokeswoman Lisa Cox.

Addo transferred to MSU for his final season of college basketball eligibility as a post-graduate student from Northern Colorado. He has appeared in 27 games, with 18 starts, but has seen his playing time diminish in the last month.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Toronto is averaging 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds for the season. He has 38 points over the team’s last 18 games.

No further details of the arrest were available.



Source: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20140302/NEWS01/303020116/Missouri-State-Addo-arrest?nclick_check=1

"Final Destination 3" star Ryan Merriman has been charged with DUI -- two months after the actor was arrested in Newport Beach, CA.


Source:http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/29/final-destination-ryan-merriman-dui/#.TybJrTBSRlo