Teen Arrested Multiple Times for California DUI

Morgan Hill driver arrested three times in just 11 days for Driving Under the Influence in California during the 'Avoid 13' law enforcement campaign.

Over an eleven-day period during a December DUI crackdown held by Santa Clara County law enforcement, Anthony Maher was arrested for driving under the influence three times.

At the first traffic stop, the 19-year-old man from Morgan Hill, California registered a blood alcohol content of .08%, the legal limit for an adult. Police ticketed Maher and held him at a police station for a couple of hours. Though he was an underage DUI suspect and thus subject to harsher penalties, Maher was released because he had no prior arrest record.

At Maher’s second arrest his BAC was .20%, four times the legal limit for a teen. During his third arrest his BAC was .21%. In both cases, police held the suspect for a few hours and released him to an adult. There was an option of detaining Maher in jail, which police now admit they should have done.

There are no laws for addressing three DUI arrests in such a short period of time. Because Maher had not gone to trial, let alone been arraigned, in any of his cases, all three arrests were labeled misdemeanors and, as allowed by California DUI laws, he was given a 30 day temporary driver’s license.

If convicted in all three cases, Maher could be required to pay huge fines, attend alcohol education classes, perform community service, pay high-risk auto insurance premiums and serve time in jail. His license would be suspended for three years.

Maher’s three arrests were part of the 87 total drunk driving arrests made in Morgan Hill during the ‘Avoid the 13’ law enforcement campaign.

Tags: Avoid 13