Search results for category: South Dakota DUI

Sturgis Rally Sees Rise in Arrests for DUI in South Dakota

Drunk driving incidents up at this year’s motorcycle rally.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol has announced that the number of overall arrests for driving under the influence was up at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Through Saturday there were 316 SD DUI arrests, compared to 253 in 2008. The rally, held in the Black Hills, ended Friday though the official window for DUI statistics runs longer because many bikers arrive early and stay through the weekend.

There were 72 accidents involving injury, compared to 60 last year. While drunk driving in South Dakota arrests were up this year, the number of drug arrests dropped from 232 to 199.

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Fewer South Dakota DUI Arrests at Sturgis Bike Rally

Highway Patrol says drunk driving incidents down at annual rally.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol has released figures showing that the number of arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is down at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

While South Dakota DUI and drug arrests were down, the overall number of citations has risen from 471 in 2007 to 611 this year.

The annual motorcycle event draws visitors from around the world. The arrest statistics cover the towns of Sturgis and Rapid City, as well as southern Black Hills and Badlands areas.

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Week of July 28 - DUI / DWI Shorts

Really Odd DWI News - Multiples

Two Oklahoma DUI Arrests in 1 Day – Leslie Paul Lunsford was arrested for drunk driving in Ocheleta, Oklahoma at 2:19 pm after being witnessed going just 10 miles per hours and drifting off the road. Lunsford, 38, was arrested again just 6 hours later after a single car accident where he kicked out his windshield and hid in the woods. During arraignment a judge declared Lunsford a threat to public safety, to which he replied, “Right on”.

Two South Dakota DUI Arrests in 1 Day – Angel Lacroix was charged with driving under the influence at 1:48 am after police investigated a noisy exhaust system. At 5:19 am police observed the 22-year old driving again and arrested her on a second case of drunk driving.

Two New York DWI Arrests in 2 Hours – Hayley Love, 22, was charged with driving while intoxicated in New York around 1:30 am. Her blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit and her vehicle was confiscated and she was released to a parent. Around 3:20 am the Erie County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary call where Andrew Apa, 23, had broken into his own mother’s home. Apa had been kicked out of the house by his mother earlier in the day after a confrontation. While on the scene, Love, apparently the girlfriend of Apa, drove up in her father’s pick-up truck. Officers determined Love’s BAC was still two times the legal limit for intoxication and charged her with a second DWI offense.

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Week of April 4 Odd DUI News

This weeks DUI / DWI Shorts

New Mexico man receives probation only to be rearrested for same offense – Instead of a jail sentence, Rennie Yazzie, received supervised probation after being charged with New Mexico DWI and evading police arrest. The very night after receiving such favorable terms, the 22-year old led police on another high-speed chase while drunk. In addition to reaching speeds of 100 mph, Yazzie ran a stop light, rammed police cruisers and drove on rims after police punctured three tires with stop sticks. Two of his passengers jumped out of the vehicle in fear. Yazzie now faces his fourth New Mexico drunk driving offense, aggravated fleeing and two counts of battery against a police officer. He likely will also be sent to jail for the two years that were suspended when he received probation earlier in the day.

South Dakota man threatens cars with bow and arrows – Loren Two Bulls was charged with intoxication after he was found standing in the middle of the road aiming a bow and arrow at passing cars. The 23-year old reportedly shot at one car and threatened two others before Rapid City police apprehended him.

Tennessee man rams truck of ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend – Edd Bolton, an alderman in the town of Erwin, faces felony charges after calling his ex-girlfriend around 1:00 am and asking whether her new boyfriend’s Ford Ranger would look good in the garden. The 55-year old then arrived at the house and rammed the vehicle with such force that the red Ford traveled 80 feet and ended up in a raised flower bed. Bolton was arrested for Tennessee DUI, vandalism over $1000, leaving the scene of an accident and criminal trespassing. Just hours after being released, he was re-arrested on charges of domestic violence for another altercation with his ex-girlfriend.

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Horse and Bicycle DUI Bill

Rounds Signs Horse, Bicycle DUI Bill Into Law

Starting July first, South Dakota bar owners may want to install hitching posts and bike racks out front. That's when a new law takes effect that insulates bike and horse riders from being arrested for drunken driving.

Governor Rounds signed the legislation. The measure removes bikes, trikes and horses from drunken driving statutes.

Legislators offered the bill as part of an effort to update the state criminal code. Horses, bikes may be DUI-freeBill that doesn't punish drinkers for not driving under consideration.

By Jenny Michael - Associated Press Writer

Intoxicated South Dakotans should be able to ride horses or bikes home from bars without fear of being arrested for drunken driving, legislators decided Wednesday.

The House Transportation Committee voted 10-1 for a bill to exempt horses and bikes from the statutory definition of vehicles, sending HB1190 to the House floor.

Rep. Tom Hennies, R-Rapid City, said people who have been drinking and choose not to drive cars or trucks should not be punished for using alternate transportation.

"We should not push people to stop driving when they've been drinking, and at the same time penalize them if they get on a bicycle when they're drunk," the former police chief said.

Hennies told of a Pennington County man who was arrested several times for drunken driving, including a fourth arrest while pedaling a bicycle home one night. The man could have been sent to prison if he had been convicted, Hennies said.

"I don't know anybody that had that intent when we're talking about drunk drivers," he said. A Pierre man was arrested several times in recent years for being drunk on his horse. At one trial, the man said he was upset for getting stopped because he had not been drinking and smelled of alcohol only because he had put liniment on his horse, adding that he wasn't a danger because his horse "knew the way home." He was found innocent that time.

Hennies acknowledged that drunks on bikes and horses can cause problems, but he said it would be better to charge them with disorderly conduct than drunken driving.

The bill would affect more than just drunken driving, Hennies said. He said people on horses and bikes would technically be excluded from other state traffic regulations, such as obeying stop signs, although most city ordinances would still require it.

"You won't have to buy a license plate for your horse, either," Hennies added.

Rep. Gordon Peterson, R-Wall, wondered if the bill signified the official end of the horse and buggy era in South Dakota.

"Cowboys that get drunk on Saturday nights and ride home in small towns won't like this too much," he said. "They won't have their fun with their cops."

Source:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/13715231.htm

Tags: DUI Laws |  South Dakota DUI

S.D. Woman on Golf Cart Arrested for DUI

S.D. Woman on Golf Cart Arrested for DUI

RAPID CITY, S.D. - A Keystone woman was arrested early Thursday for DUI - after she was stopped while driving a golf cart. A Rapid City police officer was on patrol around midnight when he met a woman on a golf cart driving on the road.

The police report said the officer put on his emergency lights and tried to stop the golf cart because it had no lights and was a threat to traffic. The driver would not stop at first but finally did after she realized she couldn't outrun the squad car, according to police.

The woman told the officer she had borrowed the golf cart from friends at a party.

The officer smelled alcohol on her breath and tried to draw a blood sample as part of the new mandatory blood test, but when the woman became uncooperative, it took a couple of officers to hold her so they could get the blood sample, the police report said.

After the results were in, Tawanna Martin, 23, was arrested for driving under the influence.

Tags: DUI Related |  South Dakota DUI