Mar 5, 2013 | Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
On December 18, 2012, Charlotte Mecklenburg patrol officers and policemen teamed with the Mecklenburg ABC Law Enforcement to file an astonishing total of 89 DWI charges. The checkpoint was set up on University City Boulevard late on Friday evening and early into Saturday morning.
This particular checkpoint was the “kick off” to the later 25 checkpoints that the Enforcement Team plans to hold throughout Charlotte this year.
According to reports, the checkpoint was equipped with a large bus that was standing by to administer breathalyzer tests to the person suspected of drinking and driving. The checkpoint was instituted as part of a statewide “Booze It or Lose It” campaign in which the force wished to prevent drunk driving and educate the public of the serious dangers in connection to driving while intoxicated.
This particular checkpoint was set up were targeted towards college students attending the University of North Carolina at the Charlotte Campus. The Campus has numerous entrances, one being located directly off of University City Boulevard.
After all was said and done, 24 people were charged with driving with a revoked license. Moreover, 18 people were charged for operating tractor-trailers or semi’s without having the proper operator’s license. Of the 89 charges issued, only seven were awarded to people who were driving while intoxicated. The remaining 29 charges were due too minor traffic violations.
If you or someone you know has been charged with a DWI, or any other traffic violation, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken,and Hightower,LLP. Our criminal attorneys understand the hardships that come with any criminal charges and want to help you or someone you know through his/her difficult time. We are licensed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Mar 4, 2013 | Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
A North Carolina resident apparently had trouble learning his lesson. The man was arrested for the ninth time on driving while impaired charges, according to authorities.
The man was pulled over by officers on Monday night for running a red light. The man was pulled over while driving his moped and refused a breathalyzer test, according to authroities. This is the man’s ninth DWI in the last 25 years and the man has seven convictions for driving while impaired in other counties.
On the eighth driving while impaired charge for the man, he was pulled over for driving a boat while intoxicated. The man remains in the Gaston County jail under a $250,000 bond.
According to NC law, each DWI a person recieves brings with it a higher level of punishment. Specifically, upon one’s fourth or more offense, there is a mandatory permanent driver’s license revocation. Furthermore, the offense will be considered a felony if there has been three prior DWI convictions within the past seven years. The offense can carry with it one to three years of imprisonment, or a hefty fine.
If you or anyone you know has been charged with a DWI, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower to consult with one of our criminal DWI attorneys. Our criminal DWI attorneys handle many types of criminal cases in North and South Carolina. We are licensed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 18, 2013 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Personal Injury, Uncategorized
Officers are still recovering in the hospital after being struck by impaired drivers in separate incidents at the same location last night.
The first incident happened on Saturday night around 11:30 when two officers from the Providence Division Reinke and Wassenaar were outbound on Independence at Eastway Drive working the scene of a vehicular accident when an intoxicated driver failed to heed the officer’s emergency lights and struck both officers. The second incident happened at about 2:00 a.m. when another office of the Eastway Division was on scene to handle traffic from the previous accident and was struck while in his patrol car by a separate intoxicated driver. Both drivers are being charged with felony serious injury by vehicle and DWI.
Any type of DWI case is a serious matter. Contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower, LLP to consult with a criminal attorney about any robbery charges. Our DWI attorneys want to help you or someone you might know with his/her DWI case. We also handle other various different types of criminal cases in North Carolina and South Carolina. We are licensed in both North Carolina and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 13, 2013 | DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
The York County Sheriff’s Office received a $250,701 grant to start a Driving Under the Influence Enforcement Team, officials announced Friday.
The grant money will pay the salaries of two deputies, along with new patrol cars and equipment, according to sheriff’s officials.
The DUI enforcement team will dedicate all of its time to combat drunk driving in York County. The officers on the team will work closely with other agencies in the 16th circuit law enforcement network participating in programs such as “Sober or Slammer” and “The 100 Deadly Days of Summer.” Team members will also spend time educating the public about impaired driving at public events and schools.
With police officers stepping up their enforcement techniques, it is becoming increasingly important for the average citizen charged with DUI to know their rights under the law. Any person under South Carolina law can be charged with a felony DUI, even if such incident is the first DUI offense charged to that person. Under the S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2945, “(A) A person who, while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of alcohol and drugs, drives a motor vehicle and when driving a motor vehicle does any act forbidden by law or neglects any duty imposed by law in the driving of the motor vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes great bodily injury or death to a person other than himself, is guilty of the offense of felony driving under the influence and, upon conviction, must be punished.”
The penalties for pleading guilty or being convicted under the felony DUI statute are characterized “(1) by a mandatory fine of not less than five thousand one hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand one hundred dollars and mandatory imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than fifteen years when great bodily injury results;(2) by a mandatory fine of not less than ten thousand one hundred dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand one hundred dollars and mandatory imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than twenty-five years when death results. A part of the mandatory sentences required to be imposed by this section must not be suspended, and probation must not be granted for any portion.” Based on the final sentence quoted above in the statute, probation is not even an option for any person convicted or pleading guilty to charges under the felony DUI statute in South Carolina, even persons who are first time offenders of the statute. According to the S.C. Code Ann. §56-5-2945(B), great bodily injury as used in the statute includes “protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.” Thus, since the common protracted is commonly thought to mean to prolong or draw out an event or incident, loss of life or limb is not a necessary prerequisite for a finding of guilty under the statute. The victim may fully recover from the injuries suffered at the hands of the defendant, but as long as the victim has an injury that will most likely cause him impairment of one of his bodily parts or organs, a defendant can be convicted under this felony DUI statute and would face some type of mandatory incarceration sentence.
Thus, the role of a lawyer becomes most important to those charged under the South Carolina felony DUI statute. Whatever the case may be, and whatever type of “DUI” you have been charged with, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower to have your claim evaluated. We are licesnsed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Dec 19, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sand the U.S. Congress have agreed in unison that ignition interlock in vehicles be made a mandatory requirement for anyone convicted of a DWI, including first time offenders. NTSB and Congress also believe that this power should rest with the states, allowing each state to craft their own mandatory requirements.
Specifically, according to the safety bill adopted by Congress last year, states will be given federal grants in order to aid the ignition interlock, ensuring that each state can comply with the requirement if desired. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. 112-141. ( U.S.)(2011). The bill was introduced after a special investigation into vehicle crashes, resulting from intoxicated drivers travelling down the wrong way of the roadways. The NTSB ultimately concluded that installing the interlock ignition would greatly reduce the amount of accidents caused by intoxicated drivers.
There are three instances in which the state of North Carolina currently requires ignition interlock as a condition of regaining one’s driver’s license: (1) the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more; (2) the person was convicted of another offense, involving impaired driving within seven years of the offense for which the person’s license is revoked; or (3), the person was sentenced at an “Aggravated Level One,” which is the highest level of punishment one can receive for a misdemeanor DWI. Thus, our state’s system is currently not as rigid as the NTSB requirement. In order to comply with the requirement and be awarded federal money, North Carolina would have to expand the mandatory interlock ignition requirement to all persons charged with a DWI.
In order to jumpstart production of the ignition interlock, the NTSB and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration have united to begin working to develop this “high tech” equipment through a cooperative research program referred to as the DADSS program.
The DADSS system is opposed to the current interlock ignition, believing that it is too burdensome on the use by widespread public. DADDSS thinks the current system, which requires the driver to blow into a breathalyzer every time they start the car, is an extremely intrusive system.
Thus, DADSS has created two less intrusive alternatives for the interlock ignition. The first system would be a touch-based approach, measuring the person’s alcohol concentration by their skin. The second would be similar to the breathalyzer, however rather than “blowing,” sensors would be used to test the driver’s breath on the exhale.
Many in support of the DADSS system believe that this maybe one of the few times in which the government can utilize technology to prevent a crime, without “unduly burdening the individual freedom.” If they are correct, there could be no constitutional violations raised, and serious injury and deaths due to drunk drivers may be greatly reduced, to the benefit of all drivers alike.
If you or a loved one has been charged with driving under the influence, driving under suspension, or any other alcohol related charge, call the law offices of Reeves Aiken & Hightower for a consultation. We know that a DUI can determine the next year or so of a person’s life; therefore, it is important for you to get proper representation. Call us at 704-499-9000, or toll-free at 877-374-5999.
Nov 29, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
An 18-year-old Conway, South Carolina teen is being charged with Felony driving under the influence (DUI) after a head on collision with a van. This killed the 52-year-old passenger, and injured others.
Police report that an SUV, driven by the defendant, crossed the grass median of U.S. Highway 17 and collided with a van that was carrying six people. Both vehicles overturned in the crash. The man who was killed was not wearing a seat-belt.
The driver is being charged with two counts of felony driving under the influence, one for death and the other for great bodily injury. Everyone in the van was taken to the local hospital.
A felony DUI charge in South Carolina requires that the person be proven to have: Operated a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both; and, did something else against the law, whether traffic law or duties imposed by the court, for example, failed to maintain lane or acted negligently; and, proximately causes great bodily injury or death to a person other than himself, including passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists.
If you or a loved one has been charged with DUI or Felony DUI, call the law offices of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower, LLP. For a consultation call our Fort Mill, South Carolina office at 803-548-4444, or toll-free at 877-374-5999.
