Jared Hale, Former Marine, Sentenced to 11 Years in Jail for Deadly DUI Crash

As someone recently arrested for a Los Angeles DUI, you may find it instructive to read about the heartbreaking case of former Marine sergeant, Jared Hale, who was just sentenced for a causing a deadly DUI crash in 2012. Hale served at Camp Pendleton; he had been driving with three friends when he crashed the vehicle at Dana Point. All passengers suffered fatal injuries.

The Marines had all been in their early 20s at the time of the crash, and according to case reports, they had all been drinking at Hennessey’s Tavern, a local watering hole. Hale was supposed to be the designated driver that night, but reports say that he ended up with a BAC level of .18% — more than twice California’s legal limit.

The court denied Hale an alternative sentence, including treatment time in lieu of prison. Hale’s attorney argued that his drinking had been a clumsy attempt at self-medicating. Therapists had diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences in Sangin, Afghanistan. His lawyer cited a state law that asks courts to take into consideration whether military related injury or trauma might have indirectly or directly influenced bad decision making or behavior.

The presiding judge responded that, although Hale’s case was unfortunate, “the court does not find his story plausible or believable.” Hale will be serving an 11-year jail sentence.

Crashes that involve alcohol are considered aggravated DUI in California. When someone dies as a result of a crash that involved intoxication, authorities may seek different charges. Police reports can play a vital role in determining which charges are brought against an individual. A DUI attorney will also conduct an investigation of charges in a deadly DUI crash, which is why securing representation early is an important step to protect your rights. If you or someone you love faces a deadly DUI crash charge, obtaining key evidence early could help exonerate you or help you plead down to lesser charges.

Do you need assistance constructing an appropriate response to a DUI charge? Look to the Kraut Law Group’s Michael Kraut for insight and peace of mind. Mr. Kraut is an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney with many relevant connections in the local legal community.

If police stopped you for Los Angeles DUI, you may be worried and anxious. Contact Harvard Law School educated, ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for assistance at (323) 464-6453 or online. Our team is located at 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1480, Los Angeles, California 90028.

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Tampa Bay Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Ninth DUI Conviction

By guest-writer

A Tampa Bay resident who has reportedly been a binge drinker for more than 30 years has somehow survived long enough to tally his ninth DUI conviction, according to an incredible report from the Tampa Bay Times.

And a Florida judge who had little sympathy for a man with a clear disease has sentenced him to 10 years in prison for his latest brush with the law, in which the man was caught driving drunk despite the fact that his license had been permanently revoke.

According to sources, 48-year-old James Vernon Smith pleaded with Judge Kimberly Fernandez for mercy before she announced his sentence.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit and clad in shackles around his wrists and ankles, Smith asked the judge not to throw him in jail, and claimed, “I’m more than just a drunk. I’m a son, I’m a brother, I’m a father and there’s still good left in me.”

Despite this plea, Judge Fernandez said the man’s conduct “simply demonstrates a flagrant disregard for the law,” which led to her decision to levy a 10-year jail sentence and five years or probation.

After he is released from jail, Smith will also receive psychiatric and alcohol evaluations, although his DUI lawyer argued that Smith should receive more treatment immediately, rather than jail time.

In the words of Smith’s attorney, the “reality is that he will go sit in a prison cell for the next eight years and he won’t receive the help he needs.”

The attorney also observed that a mental health counselor employed by the state said that Smith suffers from several mental disorders which went undiagnosed until last week but have had a significant impact on Smith’s behavior.

In fact, the mental health counselor also observed that Smith’s mental illnesses likely contributed to his binge drinking, and that the man needs serious psychiatric help in order to remedy his problems.

While the judge listened respectfully to the lawyer’s arguments, she was ultimately swayed by the extreme disregard for DUI laws displayed by Smith, and decided that a more severe punishment was warranted.

In addition to his time in jail, Smith will also be required to perform up to 100 hours of community service and he will have to give speeches to younger people about the dangers of driving while intoxicated.

Sources say that Smith lives in Louisiana and works an underwater welder. He also has two daughters who live in Florida.

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DUI Driver Sentenced to Year in Prison for Hitting 9-Year-Old Boy

By guest-writer

A drunk driver has been sentenced to a year in prison after he struck a nine-year-old boy who was leaving a San Francisco Giants game last year, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

The man, 22-year-old Andrew Alan Vargas, appeared in court last week for sentencing and expressed his remorse to the family of the boy whom he struck with his pickup truck last August.

Before the crash occurred, young Ryan White was walking with his family back to their San Francisco hotel after watching a baseball game at AT&T Park. The Whites, who are from Yardley, Pennsylvania, had traveled to the Bay Area to watch their favorite team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

As a result of the accident, which was caused by Vargas’s misguided decision to drive the wrong way down a one-way street, Ryan White suffered a lacerated liver and a fractured pelvis.

The parents of the child, Ken and Roseanne White, were unable to attend the sentencing hearing because they had to stay in Philadelphia, where their son was undergoing his fourth surgery since the crash, sources indicate.

In a letter to the judge, however, the parents made pointed remarks to Vargas, claiming that he was “incarcerated because of [his] actions” but they also noted that their son was also incarcerated because of the man’s actions.

In their letter, the Whites said that Ryan’s injuries have rendered him unable to do all of his favorite physical activities, including swimming, bike riding, and performing martial arts.

To his credit, Vargas did apologize profusely, both to the judge and to Ryan White and his family, for his decision to drive under the influence of alcohol.

In his statements to the sentencing judge, Superior Court Judge Nancy Davis, Vargas claimed, “I have learned so much out of this, and I’m determined to turn things around for them and will do everything in my power to avoid others from making the same mistake that I committed.”

Interestingly, Ryan White’s parents supported Judge Davis’s decision to only sentence Vargas to a year in prison (sources suggest that, had she wanted to, the judge could have sentenced Vargas to a much lengthier prison term).

Sources say that the family gave their approval to a decision last month in which Vargas pleaded guilty to a felony DUI charge with great bodily injury. Charges related to a hit-and-run were dropped.

In the White family’s words, they did not want Vargas “to sit in jail forever and do nothing” because, from what they had heard, he was “a good young man.”

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Chuck Turner Is Sentenced In Boston’s Federal Court For White Collar Crimes- Attorney Sam’s Take

Chuck Turner (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) faced the federal judge yesterday. Finally, after listening to lord knows how many hours from the Defendant, the judge got to have his say. It was sentencing day for the Defendant. The final act of the recent federal trial during which a jury found him guilty of white collar crmes

The defense argued for leniency for the 70-year-old civil rights crusader. They pointed to his four decades of service as a community activist and elected official...aside from whatever other corruption one might assume took place during those years. They appealed to the court to give the Defendant probation, allowing him to avoid obligatory government housing altogether.

The prosecutors suggested a prison term of 33 to 41 months. They argued that the Defendant lied on the witness stand (aka perjury) and that he made a mockery of public office and the criminal justice system.

The Defendant was convicted in October of attempted extortion and three counts of providing false statements to FBI agents. He protested his innocence then and does so now. He blames his conviction on a government conspiracy to discredit elected officials of African-American descent.

The Defendant’s mouth was getting him into trouble even before the trial. I remember that, while his attorney was doing his best to keep options open regarding whether his client would testify, the Defendant was making promises that he would indeed testify. It got so bad that the lawyer had to just about label him as unreliable from there on.

Of course, after the Defendant testified, I understood why the attorney wanted to keep the issue close to his vest. Instead, I was scratching what little hair I have left trying to figure out why, other than a bad case of megalomania, the Defendant wanted to testify.

At sentencing, the Judge Woodlock did not mince words. He called the Defendant’s testimony at trial "ludicrous and surreal.''

"The defendant perjured himself at trial,'' he said. "He stated things he knew were not true. ... No one forced him to testify."

Still, the Defendant remained defiant after the sentencing, calling the case an example of "prosecutors gone wild.''

The bottom line, however, was delivered by the court. Three years behind bars. The Defendant reports in March to start serving his sentence.

I am not only a Boston criminal defense attorney with 25 years of experience in the criminal justice system, I am also a father. I have two kids. One of them is currently 12-years-old. He is very much into Hip Hop and Rap music.

This has caused issues from time to time. For example, perhaps since he was around 5 or 6, he insisted on wearing t-shirts to school that were provocative and celebrated his favorite entertainers. Suffice to say, said shirts caught attention of teachers and principals and not in the best ways.

I remember an adult friend of the family finally asking him, “Why don’t you just wear a t-shirt with a big middle finger on it. Wouldn’t that be easier?”

I thought it was funny then, but it made the point. The point, however, is lost on the Defendant.

I don’t know whether the Defendant was really guilty or not. However, I do know that he was convicted by a jury and until an appeals court strikes those convictions down, he will be presumed guilty by the system.

It therefore may not be in his best interest to continue to “thumb his nose” at the powers that be…like the judge. Remember, in federal court, things like acceptance of responsibility factors into sentencing. Virtually communicating “up yours!” to the judge and prosecutors at sentencing is a good way to get sentenced to more time not less.

I am always telling you to hire experienced counsel to represent you. Perhaps I should spend as much time explaining what I have assumed to be a given. Namely, listen to that lawyer!

If you want to listen to me, feel free to call me for a free initial consultation. I can be reached at t 617-492-3000.

To view the original story, and charming photograph about which parts of this blog were based, please go to : http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/01/turner_convicte.html?p1=News_links

View the original article here

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Ex-Massachusetts State Senator Dianne Wilkerson Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years in Prison For Accepting Bribes

Former Massachusetts State Senator Dianne Wilkerson has been sentenced to serve 3 1 years in state prison for accepting $23,500 in bribes. Wilkerson had pleaded guilty to criminal charges of eight counts of attempted extortion last year.

In 2008, she was caught inserting $100 bills in her bra as part of a kickback scam. Wilkerson was accused of taking eight cash payments between 2007 and 2008 from undercover agents and a witness who was secretly working with the FBI. The former state senator was captured on approximately 150 video and audio recordings saying she was going to use some of the money at a casino, as well as to embark upon a sticker campaign in the wake of losing the 2008 Democratic primary.

While prosecutors had pushed for Wilkerson be sentenced to four years in prison, her legal team had argued for less time. The sentence that Wilkerson received is in line with federal sentencing guidelines.

The former state senator, who has been ordered to turn herself in on March 11 so she can start serving her federal prison term, said today that the believes that she was pursued by corrupt federal prosecutors who didn’t like the fact that she was among the politicians that challenged the status quo. Originally, Wilkerson had faced 32 charges of allegedly taking bribes, but the government agreed to drop 24 of the criminal charges. Mail fraud and wire fraud and conspiring to extort cash were among the charges.

Wilkerson sentenced to 3 1/2 years in corruption case, Boston.com, January 6, 2011

Wilkerson guilty of attempted extortion; prosecutors recommend up to 4 years, Boston.com, June 3, 2010

Related Web Resources:
White-Collar Crime, Federal Bureau of Investigation

White-Collar Crime: an overview, Cornell University Law School

Having an experienced Boston white-collar crime lawyer representing you can greatly affect the outcome of your criminal case for the better. Your Massachusetts criminal defense attorney can help win a not guilty verdict or negotiate a successful plea agreement for you. He or she may also be able to get the charges against you dropped or your sentence reduced.

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Medford Man Is Sentenced In Federal Court For, Among Other Things, Lying To Police-Attorney Sam’s Take

Samuel Goldberg has been a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney for 20 years. Prior to that, he was a New York state prosecutor. He has published various articles regarding the practice of criminal law and frequently provides legal analysis on radio and television, appearing on outlets such as the Fox News Channel, Court TV, MSNBC and The BBC Network.
To speak to Sam about a criminal matter call 617-492-3000.

Posted On: January 11, 2011 by Samuel Goldberg

Gerard Sasso, 52, of Medford, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) has made Massachusetts history. In fact, he is not only a “first” in the Commonwealth, but is a “second” in the country! Unfortunately, he will be “celebrating” in a federal prison.

Yesterday, the Defendant became the first person in the state -- and the second in the nation -- to be convicted for lasering an aircraft. He was convicted of charges of willfully interfering with an aircraft operator with reckless disregard for human life, and of making false statements, the US attorney's office said in a statement.

The Defendant received the award of three years in prison for shining a laser at a State Police helicopter that was escorting a tanker through Boston Harbor, federal prosecutors said.

Apparently, the Defendant shined a powerful green laser on the helicopter on December 8, 2007. Prosecutors said the pilots were able to determine the light was likely coming from his apartment. When the police went to his apartment to investigate, he initially denied having the lasers but later confessed, prosecutors said. The green laser was recovered, along with 10 other lasers, from the apartment.

"This sentence should send a strong message that interfering with an aircraft in any way will result in aggressive prosecution and stiff sentences. Such actions endanger lives and disrupt air travel, and will not be tolerated," quota the government.

My experience as a Boston criminal law attorney has made me somewhat overly cautious. At least, that is what my kids say. I remember when my son got his hands on a laser pointer and thought it was hysterical to annoy people with it. I not only thought it was not funny, but was worried if there could be some kind of criminal proceeding against someone playing with these things.

I admit that it never occurred to me that, if you pointed it skyward, it could actually interfere with planes or helicopters!

As you may know, though, ignorance of the law is not a defense. Further, prosecutors seem to be almost falling over themselves to fit everyday actions into criminal cases, if only to keep up with technology. This is why, for example, cyber crime is particularly popular among law enforcement.

Had the Defendant been playing with the laser and had no idea it could interfere with pilots, he might have had a defense. Maybe the court would have felt bad for him. However, he made one mistake. A big one.

He lied to law enforcement.

As you know, you may refuse to answer questions of the investigating officers. However, you may not try to mislead them in their investigation.

That, believe it or not, is a felony called “intimidation of a witness”.

Not only is it an additional crime, but the prosecution will normally use the deception as “consciousness of guilt” to help prove that you knew you had committed a criminal act.

So, when the blue arm of the law comes a-calling, do not lie. Call. Call an experienced criminal defense attorney who can best advise you on what to do.

If you would like to discuss a criminal matter with me, please feel free to call me to arrange a free initial consultation at 617-492-3000.

To view the original story in which parts of this blog were based, please go to : http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/01/medford_man_con_1.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7_HP

View the original article here

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