Archive for February, 2010

A police officer from Santa Ana, CA had to use his stun gun on a DUI suspect, when he refused to show the officer his hands.  The suspect was alleged to have been involved in a drunk driving accident after hitting another car.  If your Washington DUI case involves an allegation that you struck another vehicle, your case will be taken much more seriously by the prosecutor’s office.

The Santa Ana officer involved in the case above was further surprised, when he went to arrest the stunned individual and found him to buck naked.  The suspect was taken for drug and alcohol tests.  Over the years, our Washington DUI lawyers have been involved in several cases where the person suspected of DUI was not wearing any clothing.  Most of those cases involved college students, a bachelor party, or individuals with mental illness.

Drinking and driving is never a good idea.  In certain instances, however, it can lead to tragic results when an alleged Washington DUI driver injures someone with their car.  If your Seattle DUI case involves an allegation of injuring someone, it is especially important to speak with an experienced Washington DUI attorney as quickly as possible.

Thomas Walker, an off-duty police officer, was charged with a DUI after causing an accident involving 2 police vehicles.  Mr. Walker lost control of his Hummer and crashed into a roadblock set-up for a different criminal investigation.  Two officers from a Pittsburgh suburb were injured in the accident and taken to local hospital, and are currently in stable condition.

Walker was also taken to the same local hospital, for a blood draw to be performed.  He was booked on suspicion of DUI and aggravated assault.  If this accident had occurred in Washington State, it’s like that similar charges would have been brought.  If your Washington DUI case involves an allegation of injuring a person, you are likely to be charged with vehicular assault, which is a felony.

Jemere Holland, a wide receiver for the University of Oregon football team was dismissed from the team after he posted an expletive-filled message to his Facebook page.  Chip Kelly, the head coach for the team, made a statement that he dismissed Holland for violating team rules.

Holland was mistakenly under the impression that star linebacker, Kristian Kiko Alonso, was dismissed from the team after a recent arrest for a DUI.  This misunderstanding prompted his tirade on his Facebook page.

Alonso is the fourth football player to be arrested in the past month.  He was arrested less than a day after Kelly held a press conference addressing the team’s off-field issues.

Holland, who transferred to Oregon from the University of Southern California, had 17 catches for 252 yards and two touchdowns in his two years with the team.  He is the second Oregon player to be dismissed from the team in the last month.  But it remains a mystery as to why Holland believed that Alonso’s drunk driving arrest and subsequent DUI charge led to his being dismissed from the team when that clearly was not the case.

Washington has had its share of football related drunk driving incidents as well.  Perhaps the best known of which was when Seattle Seahawks’ head coach Dennis Erickson was arrested for a Washington DUI.  Erickson’s WA State DUI charge remains a black mark on his record, though he has not had any similar driving under the influence of intoxicants incidents since.

Rey Maualuga, a rookie linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, plead guilty today to a DUI charge resulting from an incident in Kentucky.  Maualuga was charged in late January, after he was responsible for an accident involving a parking meter and two parked cars.  As a consequence to his guilty plea, Maualuga received a suspended 7-day jail sentence, was fined $884, and was placed on probation for 2-years.

In addition, his driver’s license was suspended for 90 days, and he was ordered to participate in a drug and alcohol education program.  Maualuga had also been charged with careless driving.  The careless driving charge was dropped as part of his plea negotiations.  If you are convicted of a Washington DUI charge, you will be sentenced to mandatory jail and face a mandatory suspension of your WA State driving privileges.  These WA DUI sentencing conditions cannot be suspended or waived.

At the courthouse, Maualuga made the following statement to the press:

He expressed contrition “for bringing such great humiliation and embarrassment to the team…  I will learn from this and become a better person and a better man from all this. And I assure you that this will never happen again.”

Although the criminal aspects of his case will be resolved, if he completes all of his court-ordered requirements, Maualuga will be responsible for the property damage that his accident caused.  The exact cost has yet to be determined.  DUI charges involving an accident are complicated.  If you or a loved one is arrested for drunk driving here in WA State, it’s important to speak with a Washington DUI attorney as soon as possible, especially if an accident is involved.