DUISearch results for category: New Jersey DUI
Man Accused of New Jersey DWI When Not in Vehicle
Suspect was sleeping in grass near his parked car.
A police officer on patrol in Madison, NJ around 4:15 am early Wednesday morning was checking a parked vehicle near a walking path when a 911 call reported a man lying in the grass nearby. Officer Papamarkos searched the area and found Devin McQuade lying with his face to the ground. When McQuade was determined to be very intoxicated, the officer arrested him for driving while intoxicated in New Jersey and for careless driving.
McQuade, 23, has been released pending a court arraignment.
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Peculiar drunk driving articles for the week of June 5
Really odd drunk driving news – 'Hitting Things'
Three items and one Nevada DUI – Anthony Lacerra refused to pull his motorhome over after striking two other vehicles. At one point he indicated that he was going to pull into a parking lot but continued on and struck a power pole. After he was eventually stopped, Lacerra claimed he was not driving, because his license had been suspended. Multiple witnesses confirmed he had been driving however and he was arrested for third-offense driving under the influence in NV. He was also charged with failure to maintain travel lane, hit and run, driving on a revoked drivers license, driving with expired registration and driving without insurance.
Six items and one Missouri DWI – In the space of one block, a drunk driver in Springfield, Missouri hit two vehicles, two trailers, a house and finally a pole. The suspect tried to run but police quickly found him and charged him with driving while intoxicated in MO.
Seven items and one New York DWI – Robert Prentice of Newfane hit a guard rail, a sailboat display, another vehicle and two trees. He then swerved onto a lawn and struck a house. Not deterred, Prentice drove off on three wheels and hit a sign before reaching his house. Responding police arrested Prentice for drunk driving in NY while he was trying to put his key in his front door.
Ten items and one New Jersey DWI – Police responding to an accident scene found that a motorist had struck four parked cars, three parking signs, a picket fence and finally two more parked cars. Witnesses were able to point to Timothy Kelly and his gold Ford Taurus as the single source of the damage. Kelly was charged with driving while intoxicated in New Jersey and failure to have valid insurance.
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Breathalyzer Code Found to Be Poorly Written
Source code determines blood alcohol content in DWI cases.
For a number of years DWI defense lawyers have questioned the reliability and accuracy of breathalyzers. At issue was the source code used to determine BAC during an investigation into driving while intoxicated. Given the constitutional right of a defendant to challenge accusations of guilt and the fact that breath test results are often the sole basis for determining guilt, access to the code is considered judicially prudent. Several state courts, including Florida, Minnesota and New Jersey, have agreed, and mandated reviews of the source code. Manufacturers, despite fines and court orders, have resisted making the software available.
A landmark case involving New Jersey DWI criminal lawyer Evan Levow has lead to a court ordered audit of the source code for the Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C manufactured by Draeger. In two separate studies, one commissioned by Draeger and another by the defendant, both found that the code does not meet industry standards for software design and that it contains ‘bugs’. The test requested by the manufacturer found no malware but noted excessively complex and poor maintained code. It also located at least one reproducible bug. The test requested by the defendant found 24 major defects, including one that disables safeguard features intended to detect and prevent invalid or corrupt instructions. Concern was raised by the researchers over the discovery that the decimal precision is not consistent throughout the code. The code was found to return arbitrary default values when the test failed and to ignore errors. That increases the potential for inaccurate results and a false arrest for drunk driving.
It is the potential legal, social and financial impact of a conviction for DWI based on the results of a breathalyzer that demand independent verification of the machine’s accuracy and its ability to successfully complete its intended critical task.
The risks are huge for Draeger too as an agreement between the company and the state of New Jersey stipulates the return of nearly $7 million if the state Supreme Court deems the breathalyzers unreliable.
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Peculiar drunk driving articles for the week of March 6
Really odd drunk driving news – Multiples
Two New Jersey DWI Arrests in 3 Hours – Matthew Tubertini, 29, was arrested for driving while intoxicated around 3:10 am following a single vehicle accident. He returned to the Mount Laurel police station just before 6:30 in the morning with a baseball bat to damage police vehicles and confront officers. He was charged with weapons offense, attempted criminal mischief and a second NJ DWI.
Two Texas DWI Arrests in 1 Day – An unidentified 53-year old man from Orange, Texas was charged with drunk driving following a two vehicle accident just before 8:00 in the morning. His white SUV was towed to an impound lot. Then shortly before 1:00 in the afternoon, calls came into 911 services reporting a reckless driver in a white SUV. Police found the vehicle stopped at a green light with same driver as the morning arrest. The driver told officers that he had been released from jail and that he had just picked up his vehicle from the towing company. The man was arrested for a second TX DWI and the SUV was towed again.
Two New York DWI Arrests in 2 Hours – Johnny C. Zertuchi, 22, was stopped just after midnight for not having working tail-lights on his vehicle. His blood alcohol content registered a .17% and he was charged with driving while intoxicated in New York. Potsdam police stopped Zertuchi again around 2:20 am and his BAC was still an elevated .15%, leading to a second arrest for NY DWI.
Two Pennsylvania DUI Arrests in 90 Minutes – Anthony J. Vallat, 41, was stopped around 12:45 in the morning for erratic driving. A breath test revealed a BAC of .158%. He was booked on charges of drunk driving in Pennsylvania and released just before 2:00 am. While police say that Vallat did not drive away from the station, he soon ended up back behind the wheel of his car. Lititz Borough police observed a potential drunk driver and stopped Vallat at 2:09 am. His second breath test for the evening registered .141% and he was charged with a second PA DUI.
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Peculiar drunk driving articles for the week of January 9
Really odd drunk driving news.
Nevada DUI for DUI tester – Kathleen Cherry, 53, is employed as a phlebotomist trained to draw blood for testing blood-alcohol content of those suspected drunk driving in Nevada. Cherry was charged with NV DUI herself after reportedly driving to work drunk. Though she claimed to have had only one margarita, she failed several field sobriety tests and had a BAC above the .08% legal limit for intoxication.
New Jersey DWI suspect leaves door at crash scene – Police investigating a hit-and-run accident scene found a car door that helped them track down an alleged drunk driver. Deirdre Ruth, 20, hit a utility pole and then fled the scene. Police found the door of her 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier at the scene, along with several personal papers with her name and address. Then came a report of a 1996 Chevy Cavalier with a missing door crashing into a stone wall two miles away. Ruth now faces charges of driving while intoxicated in New Jersey, underage drunk driving and numerous moving traffic violations.
Driver switches seats to avoid Utah DUI arrest – An unidentified West Valley City woman was reportedly driving recklessly through a Costco parking lot when she hit a curb and blew out a tire. Before police responded to the scene, the woman switched places with her 15-year old daughter. Witnesses were able to place her behind the wheel at the time of the accident however, and a breath test revealed a blood-alcohol content of .246% or more than three times the legal limit.
Pennsylvania DUI for man doing donuts on airport runway – Police responded to a 24-year old Ohio man doing donuts on the snow and ice covered runway of the Beaver County Airport, 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. After initially ignoring orders to stop spinning, the man finally explained to police that he had permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to test brakes on the runway. He was charged with suspicion of drunk driving in Pennsylvania, trespassing and other offenses.
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Ferrari Owner Hits Multiple Cars Trying to Avoid NJ DWI Traffic Stop
Driver is a bail bondsman with his own criminal history.
David Sainato, 42, is a bail bondsman who makes a living out of helping people get out jail. On Monday evening he had to post his own bail after crashing his Ferrari during a wild chase that resulted in several people being sent to the hospital.
Weehawken police were alerted to a gray Ferrari 430 that had hit several cars around 6:30 pm. Police managed to pull over the vehicle but as they approached, Sainato sped away, striking a Subaru station wagon in his attempted escape. The Ferrari then struck two more vehicles a few hundred yards away. One of those vehicles, a Chevrolet Impala carrying six people, flipped over and came to a rest on its roof. Finally the Ferrari, which had a value of $262,000 when new, hit a Nissan Maxima, damaging yet another vehicle with flying debris.
Sainato was treated for head trauma at a local medical center. Four of the six people in the Impala were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The results of tests for blood alcohol content are still pending. Sainato faces several charges, including driving while intoxicated in New Jersey.
Sainato was arrested for making terroristic threats last September 30. On November 23 he was charged again with making terroristic threats and for aggravated assault. He is currently out on $250,000 bail for those charges. Last February, Sainato sideswiped another vehicle and hit a tree, for which he was charged with drunk driving in New Jersey and resisting arrest. In the early 90’s, he spent four year in prison for various crimes, including conspiracy to commit arson. Sainato received four years probation in July 2003 for assault by auto.
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NY Giants Football Player Charged with DWI in New Jersey
Kareem McKenzie arrested for drunk driving after cutting through gas station.
Kareem McKenzie, starting right tackle for the New York Giants, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in New Jersey on Thursday evening. McKenzie reportedly cut through a gas station and was stopped by Little Falls Township police. He submitted to a breath test and registered a blood-alcohol content in excess of the .08% legal limit for intoxication.
McKenzie is a native of Trenton, New Jersey. He played for Penn State and an eight year veteran with the NFL. McKenzie has played all but three games for the Giants since joining the team for the 2005 season. The Giants organization has indicated McKenzie will play during this week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, clarifying that only the league, not the individual team, has the right to impose penalties for alcohol or drug offenses. The NFL says that first time offenders for something like DWI must typically enter a substance abuse program and could be subject to suspension or a fine. Head coach Tom Coughlin has been supportive of his offensive lineman, indicating that McKenzie has shown remorse for his mistake.
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Peculiar Drunk Driving Articles for the Week of November 14, 2008
Really odd drunk driving news and articles.
Driver of beer truck nabbed for Colorado DUIBobby Dodge was driving a semi-truck loaded with beer when he overturned on a curved off-ramp. While not injured he was charged with driving under the influence in Colorado. The interstate exit was closed for 5 hours though no beer was spilled.
At a sobriety checkpoint in Portsmouth New Hampshire police asked Peter Glidden to step out of his SUV. Glidden responded by speeding off with tires squealing, nearly hitting the patrol officer. Unfortunately he forgot that he had already handed the officer his driver’s license and registration. Glidden, 32, now faces charges of marijuana possession, disobeying an officer, reckless conduct and misdemeanor New Hampshire DUI.
During a booking for suspicion of driving while intoxicated in New Jersey, Peter Tourison applied Chapstick to his lips. That delayed a breath test because NJ DWI law states nothing can be in or around a driver’s mouth for 20 minutes before the test is administered. When the first tube of Chapstick was confiscated, Tourison produced and used another. Then he placed a penny in his mouth. It is suspected that, as a municipal judge, Tourison knew the procedures involved with a breath test and was trying to foil the result. Finally a breath test revealed a blood alcohol content of .08%, the legal limit for intoxication. Tourison, 57, now faces New Jersey DWI and charges from the New Jersey Advisory Committee on Attorney Ethics.
During his 8-year tenure as state police commissioner, Paul J. Evanko was a diligent crusader against drunk driving in Pennsylvania. A photo of Evanko with boxing gloves once appeared on anti-DUI billboards that read, “We're taking off the gloves against DUI offenders.” He implored motorists to not make a mistake when impaired by alcohol. Evanko, 60, ran into another vehicle with his Honda sedan in Dauphin County near Harrisburg around 10:00 pm. Police detected alcohol and arrested the former state top cop for PA DUI. His blood alcohol content was 0.183%, more than twice the legal limit for intoxication.
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Court to Set Basis for NJ DWI Stop
State Supreme Court decision could impact drunk driving cases in New Jersey.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that could establish a new course for DWI prosecutions in the state. The justices will be deciding the set of circumstances that need to be considered before a law enforcement officer stops a motorist based on a tip. Currently such calls are given less weight than anonymous calls from concerned citizens.
At the heart of the situation is a New Jersey DWI case against Paul Amelio. During an argument with his daughter, Amelio left his house, got in his car and drove off. His daughter called the police and told them her father was drunk. The officer followed Amelio until he returned to his driveway, and then charged him with driving while intoxicated in NJ. Amelio pleaded guilty but then appealed.
Amelio’s defense attorney, Douglas Kinz, said that the police did not have enough information to warrant a traffic stop and initiate an arrest. Historically the courts have ruled that such tips must involve specifics, and in the case of a suspected drunk driver, an estimate of the amount of alcohol someone has consumed. Amelio’s daughter simply said her father was ‘drunk’ and provided no further information. Nor did she witness any erratic driving. Kinz stated that the police who responded to the scene, “lacked a reasonable and articulable suspicion that (Amelio) had violated the law.” It was entirely possible Amelio’s 17-year old daughter may not have known the difference between acting belligerent and being intoxicated, and Kinz raised the question as to whether she was in the same room as her father at the time of the argument.
In the absence of specific information, tips can be viewed as vendettas, using the police as instruments of revenge. Evan Levow, a leading lawyer in New Jersey DWI defense, said the questions being asked by the Supreme Court about procedure in a traffic stop based on a tip “are important…(as they address) when it is permissible to intrude upon the freedoms of all drivers.” Kinz warned that, if the court upholds the traffic stop of Amelio, anyone driving a car will be subject to being stopped on a hunch and a guess.
Both a Superior Court and a panel of judges on the state Appellate Division ruled that Amelio’s New Jersey DWI conviction should not stand. Prosecutors however appealed to the high court.
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Defense lawyers take Alcotest challenge to US Supreme Court
Defense attorneys who unsuccessfully challenged the use of a new device to test drunk drivers in New Jersey have taken their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read more about the three year legal battle in philly.com by Troy Graham.
See why New Jersey DWI Attorney Evan Levow along with other defense attorneys filed a 529-page petition with the high court.
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