Categories

Whether DUI offenders with higher blood alcohol contents should be included in the West Virginia’s new DUI deferral program — as the law is written — is the subject of debate, local officials said.

The law, which went into effect on June 11, allows most first-time DUI offenders who didn’t hurt or kill anyone to have their DUI charge dismissed if they attend an approved safety and treatment program, serve a 15-day driver’s license revocation, and complete 165 days on the interlock program, said Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) General Counsel Jill Dunn. The offender can apply for expungement of the offense after one year if he or she goes that long without incident.

What’s causing the problem, however, is whether a first-time offender charged with aggravated DUI (a BAC of .15 or above) is eligible for the deferral program. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Monongalia County Magistrate Hershel Mullins said he doesn’t believe that was the intent of the law, but that is the way it is written. He also wondered what happens to aggravated DUI offenders who take a deal and plead guilty to non-aggravated DUI.

“I think the intent of the law is 1/8for people with a BAC of3/8 .08 to .15, but that is not what they did,” Mullins said. “If you read the code, that’s not what it says.”

As a result, Mullins and other magistrates in Monongalia, Marion and Preston counties allow any firsttime offender to apply for the program, since the form goes to the DMV for approval first.

Dunn, however, said aggravated DUI offenders are not eligible.

“I believe that they are mistaken,” she said by email. “The deferral program is for true first offenders of simple DUI. Those drivers charged with aggravated DUI are not eligible for the deferral program. … If an officer charges a driver with aggravated DUI, that would be a violation of another provision of the article 1/8not the section of code that deals with the nonaggravated DUIs3/8.”
read more…

Troubled starting cornerback for the West Virginia University football team, Brandon Hogan, was recently charged with DUI in Morgantown, West Virginia, and has been suspended indefinitely, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

According to Mountaineers head coach Bill Stewart, Hogan broke a team rule and would be punished in a manner chosen by the coach over an appropriate period of time. “He will rejoin the Mountaineer team when I deem fit,” Stewart said at his weekly press conference.

Hogan, who was first-team all-Big East last season for West Virginia, was pulled over in the early morning hours recently after exiting a parking lot and turning down a one-way street headed in the wrong direction, according to the news provider. The 22-year-old then failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody where he was processed without incident and released on bond, the news source said.

The DUI arrest comes after Hogan was cited for disorderly conduct and public urination in April. The cornerback was also held out of spring practice because Stewart wasn’t pleased with his effort in the offseason conditioning program. The coach was also reportedly upset with reports about Hogan’s poor performance in the classroom and attempted to remedy the situation by sending the player to study halls and tutoring sessions during spring practice.

Source

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WUSA) – There’s a lot of focus on the fact that Carlos Montano is an illegal immigrant. But leaders at MADD say the real problem is our drunk driving laws, and how time and time again, drunk drivers with serious alcohol problems are allowed to get right back in the seat of a car.

Montano’s racked up a frightening record: reckless driving, public drunkenness, speeding, three times driving after his license was revoked, and two DUI convictions.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s from the moon, Bolivia or the United States. He shouldn’t have been driving drunk,” says Jeff Levy with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Levy says the first time someone is caught driving drunk, they’ve already driven drunk without getting caught 87 times, according to MADD statistics. That’s why MADD is pushing for laws that require interlock devices for first time DUI offenders. Interlock devices require the driver to blow into a breathalyzer. It won’t let the car start if the driver has been drinking.

Arizona and New Mexico are two out of about a dozen that require interlock devices for first time DUI offenders. Those states report a more than 30% decline in alcohol related crashes, injuries and deaths.

Virginia only requires interlock devices for second time offenders.

“We think anyone convicted of DUI should be prevented from driving. It’s as simple as that,” says Levy.

“Had you put the interlock device on the car (Montano was driving) after the first time, rather then giving him break after break after break, until he’s impaired again and killed someone,” said Jack Dalton, the director of public policy for National Interlock System, Inc.

Sure drinking and driving kills people and those guilty of it should be punished, but until we have a foolproof system of proving that guilt I think Virgina DUI laws should stay as they are.

Source

Driving Under the Influence is a dangerous crime that could be easily avoided.  In West Virginia alone, in 2008 143 total deaths were recorded where at least one driver had alcohol in their system, according to DUI-USA.DrinkDriving.org.

In Charleston,  The Willy Foundation was started by the family of Willy Shuman.  Willy was killed in a DUI accident in June, 2009.  Willy was riding as a passenger when the vehicle crashed in the Davis Creek area.  The driver of the vehicle later pleaded guilty to DUI.  Click here for past stories on the accident.

According to the foundation’s website, their mission “is to motivate, encourage and support young men and women in order to reach their fullest potential and become leaders in their communities.”  The Willy Foundation aims to help young men and women focus on their goals and encourages them to make safe and healthy lifestyle decisions.  Click here for the foundation’s mission statement.

According to drivinglaws.org, in West Virginia, a person can face 24 hours to 6 months in jail the first time they are arrested and convicted of drunk driving.  That driver may also face a fine up to $500.  But no fine compares to injuries and deaths that can happen with drunk driving.

The illegal level of blood alcohol concentration in West Virginia is .08 or above.  In West Virginia, that level drops to .04 for commercial drivers and a no tolerance rule is in affect for drivers under the age of 21.

To test your blood alcohol content level, go here.

A West Virginia lawmaker in Charleston for the ongoing legislative session faces a drunken driving charge from city police.

Delegate Alex Shook, a Monongalia County Democrat, was arrested and charged with the misdemeanor late Wednesday.

Kanawha County Magistrate Court officials confirmed the charge Thursday, and said he was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

A Charleston Police spokesman did not immediately return a message requesting comment.

Shook is a 40-year-old Morgantown lawyer first elected to the House in 2006. He did not attend Thursday’s floor session, and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source

Four years ago, Herb Snyder was an incumbent senator defeated in his party’s primary after a drunken driving charge left him publicly apologizing for an alcohol problem he was struggling to control.

Sober since that arrest and on the verge of returning to the Senate, Snyder wants to use his experience as a catalyst for legislation aimed at helping addicts overcome their dependencies.

“I’m not ashamed whatsoever” to bring up the issue, he said. “If we don’t talk about the problem of addiction as a society, it’s never going to improve.”

Lawmakers have focused too much on stiffening penalties for crimes like drunken driving, Snyder believes, and not enough on rehabilitation to help addicts overcome their dependencies.

West Virginia law requires safety and treatment classes for DUI offenders seeking to get their licenses restored, but some lawmakers have raised questions about the accessibility and effectiveness of those classes.

“The so-called treatment programs we have right now are basically worthless, as far as I can tell,” said Sen. Jon Blair Hunter.

The Monongalia County Democrat during this year’s legislative session criticized a bill mandating harsher penalties for drunken drivers with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 or higher, arguing it did nothing to increase treatment options. It ultimately became law.

“West Virginia needs to get a strong rehabilitation component into our laws along with the penalties,” Snyder argued. “It’s the only way to get at the root of the problem.”

The 55-year-old speaks from experience. He says he hasn’t taken a drink in more than five years, since he was arrested in August 2003 while leaving the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.

Police said Snyder’s blood-alcohol level was 0.267. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.
Source

As stated here West Virginia DUI Related Death has shown an increase this year.

The authorities have charged a Preston County man DUI Manslaughter, after a passenger in his car died from injuries suffered in an accident.

The suspect was driving, when he and Herbert Eugene Delany, 78, left a bar, last month.

They were involved in an accident on U. S. Route 50.

The victim died of his injuries, Wednesday at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

The suspect is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
Source

A man arrested for driving under the influence in West Virginia got himself into a lot more trouble later at the police station.

Jose Cruz was pulled over Monday night on Route 60 in South Charleston for driving with his headlights off. He was subsequently arrested after failing a series of sobriety tests, according to WSAZ TV in Charleston.

During fingerprinting, Cruz then allegedly moved closer to one of the officers and passed gas, the station reported. In the complaint, the investigating officer wrote that police noticed a “very strong” odor.

The alleged stunt led Cruz to be charged with another offense — battery on an officer — in addition to DUI and obstruction, WSAZ reported.
Source

The Charleston Police Department and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint today in the 3800 block of Seventh Avenue from 5 p.m. to approximately midnight.

The West Virginia State Police will be conducting a DUI checkpoint beginning 8 p.m. Aug. 30 and continuing through 2 a.m. Aug. 31 on W.Va. 34 near Chapman Funeral Home, Teays Valley.

Source