Woman facing charges in New Jersey drunk driving case

A 66-year-old woman leaving a New Jersey liquor store was taken into custody for drunk driving on Feb. 19 around 5:30 p.m. after an anonymous phone call to police claimed she was swerving before turning into the store's parking lot. According to a police officer who responded to the tip, the woman left the liquor store and got into her car. She began swerving again as she drove up the road.

The police officer pulled her over and administered field sobriety tests that she failed to complete. She was given a breath test at the police station and allegedly tested at three times the legal limit for alcohol.

The woman is now facing charges for failure to keep right, reckless driving and DWI. She was released to a friend.

DWI charges like the ones in this case can have serious consequences. They may include license suspension, probation, community service or even jail time. Therefore, individuals facing such charges may want to work with an attorney.

An attorney may be able to look at a case like this one and recommend several courses of action for an individual. For example, a police officer may have violated the individual's rights. If the procedures for taking the individual into custody were not properly followed, it may be possible to have the charges dismissed.

An individual might also opt for a plea bargain in which they work with the prosecution to plead guilty in exchange for lesser charges. In a drunk driving case like this one, this might mean probation or community service in lieu of other penalties.

Source: NJ.com, "Driver leaving liquor store charged with DWI in Hoptacong," Feb. 23, 2015

Tags: DWI charges, license suspension, penalties

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South Carolina State Rep. Ted Vick Facing Gun and DUI Charges

By guest-writer

A South Carolina state representative who is currently running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has been arrested for drunk driving and illegally carrying a handgun, according to a report from Columbia’s WACH News.

Ted Vick, a 39-year-old resident of Chesterfield, South Carolina, was being held earlier in jail this week on charges of speeding, committing a DUI, an carrying a pistol without a valid permit, sources say.

Shortly after his arrest, Vick was given a personal recognizance bond on the speeding and DUI charges, but the court has not yet set a bond for the weapons charge.

Vick was arrested by the Columbia Police Department after he was caught driving more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

When the officer pulled him over, he detected a “strong high odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from the car, according to the police report.

When asked to perform a field sobriety test, Vick refused. The state representative also refused to take a breathalyzer test before he was hauled off to jail.

Police also found a .380 semiautomatic pistol in Vick’s front right pocket, and they eventually learned that his concealed weapons permit had expired in 2007. In addition, Vick did not tell the officer who pulled him over that he had the handgun in his pocket.

The police report written after the incident says that Vick had a few drinks with a female student from the University of South Carolina at a local pub before heading to another bar, where they continued to drink.

Needless to say, the DUI and weapons charge, as well as the information that Vick was drinking with a young college student, amount to a public relations nightmare for a man who is running for federal office.

His campaign, however, did not immediately offer any comments on Vick’s arrest, and sources do not say whether he has hired a DUI attorney.

According to his campaign website, Vick has a wife and two daughters. His website also describes him as a “trained minister” who “is a strong believer in traditional southern family values.”

Vick is one of five Democrats who are vying for the nomination to represent the 7th Congressional District, a newly minted political district.

For his alleged crimes, Vick is facing potentially hefty fines, a possible loss of his license, and perhaps even jail time, although it’s too early in the process to gauge exactly what his punishment will be. In the meantime, Vick will have to determine whether he should continue his campaign.

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Celebrity Singers Facing DUI Trouble

Several celebrity songbirds appeared in the headlines recently for issues related to DUI arrests and DUI charges.

One is a Grammy winning songwriter, producer and actress best known for her soul-pop music, and the other is a one-time teen heartthrob slated to appear in a film about Liberace.

Singer and Grammy-winner Faith Evans pleaded no contest to DUI charges in a Los Angeles courtroom recently, following a DUI arrest back in August. The Grammy Award-winner was stopped at a DUI checkpoint in Marina del Rey on August 21 at around 10:40 p.m.

Evans was subsequently arrested for suspicion of misdemeanor drunk driving. As a part of the no contest plea, Evans will serve three years of probation, pay $300 in fines, agree not to drive with any alcohol in her system and undergo a 3-month alcohol treatment program, according to the Baltimore Sun.

She pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Evans, well-known after she arrived on the pop music scene in the mid-90s, tweeted to her fans following the DUI arrest, telling them that “After completing a full day of wardrobe prep I was stopped at a random checkpoint. I’m fine and well, and thank you for your prayers, kind words and concerns.” She signed the tweet “- Fizzy.”

Evans and her husband were arrested for drug possession charges in 2004, for which she entered a drug abuse treatment program.

Teen idol David Cassidy also faced DUI trouble recently, when he was arrested for drunk driving in Florida, according to the LA Times.

Cassidy has a court date in mid January for charges that he failed a field sobriety test at around 6 in the evening. Police reportedly witnessed Cassidy weaving on the road and making an erratic lane change.

A Breathalyzer test came back having registered a .141 and a .139 blood alcohol content for the singer and actor.

Cassidy pleaded not-guilty to the charge. He admitted that he was tired, and that he had a glass of wine with lunch and took a hydrocodine pill for back pain.

According to police, there was a bottle of bourbon in the back seat that was half empty.

Cassidy faces a misdemeanor charge of DUI, failure to maintain a single lane and driving with an open container.

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