The head of the NYC Ballet was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated in New York early January 1. Peter Martins was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Yonkers just before 2:00 am Saturday.

A spokesperson with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety says that Martins was one of 14 motorists arrested for New York DWI at different checkpoints that evening. Martins was charged with a misdemeanor as it is his first offense.

Martins, 64, was the principal dancer for the city ballet company before becoming balletmaster in 1981. Since then he has also assumed creative direction and choreographed more than 80 ballets. The company declined to talk about the incident.

UPDATE: Ballet Director New York DWI

Accused of NY DWI, Ballet Director Pleads Guilty to Lesser Offense
Peter Martins admits to DWAI in New York

The director of the New York City Ballet has entered a guilty plea to driving while ability impaired, and was fined $300. Peter Martins was arrested on January 1 at a sobriety checkpoint in Westchester County. He was originally charged with the more serious offense of driving while intoxicated in New York. DWAI involving alcohol is considered a traffic offense rather than a criminal act. It is typically charged when an officer suspects impairment and the motorist has a BAC below 0.08%.

Police say that Martin’s 2005 Bentley had damage to a passenger side tire, indicating possible striking of a curb. Martins reportedly failed several field sobriety tests and refused to submit to a breath test to check his BAC.

The ballet company has said it is glad the issue has been resolved. Martins, 64, joined the NYC Ballet in 1970 as a principal dancer and he became its director in 1990.

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Police say a man drag racing in a dump truck was driving while intoxicated when he slammed into an oncoming vehicle, killing an elderly man.

Witnesses say that just before 5:00 pm Everado Nieto was driving one of two landscaping trucks stopped at a traffic light, apparently drag racing. Nieto was heading eastbound on Jericho Turnpike in a 2000 Ford dump truck when he crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Mercedes Benz. The 86-year old male passenger in the Mercedes was killed. His 84-year old wife, who was driving, survived with critical injuries. A 63-year old passenger in the dump truck was also seriously injured.

Nieto, 32, was charged with New York DWI, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, assault and reckless driving and aggravated vehicular assault. He was being held on $500,000 bail after an arraignment last Tuesday. His driving record shows that his license had been suspended for 90 days last year after an arrest for driving while impaired and reckless driving in New York City. Nieto did have a valid license at the time of the crash.

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John Katonah, the owner of a Christian radio station in upstate New York, was arrested in Palm Beach County Florida on an outstanding warrant and extradited to New York. Katonah is said to have violated a judge's protection order requiring him to stay away from his family.

In addition to violation of the protection order, Katonah recently was charged with criminal trespass after he was discovered in a neighbor's barn, and with driving while intoxicated in New York.

Katonah is a former town councilmember in Montgomery, New York. He was arrested for reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm in 2005, and for criminal mischief associated with a domestic dispute in 2008.

On the current violation, he remains in Orange County NY jail on $10,000 bond.

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An off-duty officer with the New York Police Department was charged with DWI early Thanksgiving Day. Anthony Rodriguez was found around 3:00 am asleep at the wheel of his car, parked in a no-standing zone. He refused to submit to a breath test and the arrest report said he had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.

Rodriguez is the second officer in a week to be arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated in New York, and the fifth officer booked on criminal charges in the same time frame.

NYPD has suspended Rodriguez pending an investigation.

Have you been arrested for an NY DWI and are looking for the best qualified DWI defense attorney to help you with your New York DWI case? ]]> http://www.dui.com/dui-library/new-york/news/jets-football-player-charged-with-ny-dwi-in-manhattan Braylon Edwards arrested early Tuesday morning Fred Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:16:36 -0500 DWI New York DWI New York Jets

New York police stopped a Range Rover driven by football player Braylon Edwards around 5:15 am near the Lincoln Tunnel for having window tinting that was too dark. When issuing a ticket, the officer detected a strong smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle and initiated a New York DWI arrest. Edwards reportedly submitted to a breath test and had a blood alcohol content of 0.16%, twice the legal limit for intoxication.

Edwards, 27, is a wide receiver for the New York Jets. The general manager of the Jets expressed disappointment in Braylon's actions, saying he should have used the Player Protect Program that provides car service to players who wish to go partying. The team is reviewing the arrest with the NFL to determine appropriate discipline.

Edwards was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Jets last year, two days after being arrested for punching a friend of basketball player LeBron James outside a Cleveland nightclub. In January, Edwards pleaded no contest to aggravated disorderly conduct and was placed on probation, fined $1000 and given a 180-day suspended jail sentence.

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A man who sped past a state police cruiser was arrested for driving while intoxicated in New York. Around 4:15 Saturday morning, Diego E. Guzman passed a moving police cruiser on the Sprain Brook Parkway at 77 mph. The state trooper made a traffic stop and then initiated an investigation into drunk driving.

Guzman, 21, from Croton-on-Hudson, reportedly had a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit. He was booked for NY DWI and is due in court on September 24.

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Former New York City police officer Andrew Kelly admitted he was intoxicated when he struck and killed a Brooklyn woman last year. On Wednesday he entered a guilty plea to the felony charge of vehicular manslaughter. He also apologized directly to the victim's husband and father.

Kelly had been partying with three friends on a Saturday evening in September 2009, though it was reported that he stopped drinking at 9:45 pm because he was the designated driver. Around 1:00 am, he struck Vionique Valnord with his Jeep as she stood in the middle of the street waiting for a taxi. Kelly stopped and rendered aid until paramedics arrived. Valnord died later at a hospital.

Some police officers responding to the accident said that Kelly reeked of alcohol and had slurred speech and glassy eyes, however three precinct cops gave Kelly gum and water and claimed he did not appear drunk. Kelly refused to submit to a breath test. A warrant for a blood alcohol test was secured more than seven hours after the accident, and at that time Kelly's BAC registered zero. Kelly's New York DWI defense attorney denied his client was intoxicated.

Following Wednesday's plea, Kelly was sentenced to 90 days in jail and agreed to undergo alcohol treatment. Prior to the plea deal with prosecution, he could have been sentenced to seven years in prison. Kelly resigned from the NYPD on September 3. The three officers who assisted Kelly were suspended from the force after an internal affairs investigation found they had participated in a cover-up.

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A Cayuga County man was arrested for driving while intoxicated in New York, while driving a golf cart. New York State Police initially investigated the theft of a golf cart from a local golf course. Troopers said that Todd P. Ranke had taken the cart and driven home, but then determined that the cart belonged to Rankes family so no larceny charges were filed.

However, Ranke was determined to be intoxicated and was charged with felony NY DWI, aggravated DWI for having an elevated blood alcohol content, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.

Ranke, 43, was issued an appearance ticket. He is scheduled to answer the charges in Locke Town Court on September 15.

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Deputies with the Gennesee County Sheriff's Office stopped a man in Bethany after a tip from another motorist. Reportedly Duane Bush was weaving on a road in his van when the right rear tire fell off. Bush continued to drive for eleven miles.

A breath test showed that Bush, 61, had a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit. He was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated in New York and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. Bush's driver's license had expired 33 years ago.

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Frank Simone, of Mountaindale, was scheduled to appear in court to face charges of aggravated drunk driving in New York, misdemeanor assault and child endangerment. When he showed up for a 1:00 pm court appearance, Simone was visibly intoxicated. The judge cautioned him several times for being belligerent before finding him in contempt of court.

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A Long Island woman was charged with drunk driving in New York after her 12-year old daughter called 911 from the car. State police report that Jamie Hicks had her two children in her car when she was stopped Sunday night. Under New York DWI law, having a minor in the vehicle and driving while intoxicated constitutes a felony offense.

A breath test revealed that Hicks, 49, had a blood alcohol content of .18%, more than twice the legal limit for intoxication. She was booked for DWI in NY, posted $2000 bond and was released. Hicks is due in court August 17.

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Gov. David Paterson signed legislation closing a perceived loophole in New York DWI law. Jack Shea's Law expands the list of personnel authorized to conduct blood draws in suspected cases of driving while intoxicated in New York without a doctor's supervision. Previously only physicians, registered nurses and registered physician's assistants could legally draw blood from a drunk driving suspect without having a doctor present. The new legislation extends that authority to certified nurse practitioners and emergency medical technicians. In addition clinical lab technicians and medical personnel can conduct blood draws in the presence of a doctor, physician's assistant or certified nurse.

Shea's Law is named after Olympic gold medal winner Jack Shea, who was struck and killed by suspected drunk driver Herbert Reynolds in January 2002. Both Shea and Reynolds were taken to a nearby medical center. At the request of police and the permission of Reynolds, a blood sample was drawn. Lab results showed Reynolds blood alcohol content was .15%, well above the legal limit for impairment. That evidence was ruled inadmissible because the blood draw was taken by an unauthorized medical technician without the supervision of a doctor. The New York DWI, vehicular manslaughter charge and other traffic violations against Reynolds were eventually dismissed.

Jack Shea's son, Jim Shea Sr., has spearheaded efforts to amend the law. With the recent signing by the governor, Jim Shea said it has been a "long and frustrating journey".

Jack Shea won two speed-skating gold medals during the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, his hometown. He was instrumental in getting the Olympics back to Lake Placid for the 1980 games. His son, Jim Shea, Sr., competed in Nordic skiing at the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. His grandson, Jim Shea, Jr, won a gold medal at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, just a few weeks after Jack was killed.

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New York State Police charged a Wappinger man with drunk driving on Saturday night while he was riding an all-terrain vehicle. Daniel Alexander was allegedly riding on property without permission and police arrived on the scene around 9:00 pm. Alexander fled, driving onto a nearby roadway. He was stopped a short distance away and police checked for intoxication. Alexander's blood alcohol content registered .08%, right at the legal limit.

Alexander, 46, has a prior conviction within ten years for driving while intoxicated in New York, so the current charge was filed as a felony. He was also charged with failure to wear a helmet, operating on private property without permission, operating an unlicensed ATV and operating an ATV on a public roadway. Alexander was issued traffic tickets and ordered to appear in municipal court on July 20.

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State Police report the arrest of a Wayland man last Wednesday for DWI in New York after he was stopped on his snowmobile. Given that it is June, Carl Kruchten damaged several private yards on his drunken ride.

Kruchten, 46, had a blood alcohol content of .18%, more than twice the legal limit for intoxication in New York. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 1.

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The New York City Police Department has released data showing that Queens recorded the highest number of arrests for driving while intoxicated in the metro area. Within Queens, the central precincts saw the most arrests, especially the 115th which includes the neighborhoods of Corona, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. So far this year, a total of 257 arrests have been made for NY DWI in the 115th and there have been 167 arrests in the 110th precinct.

The numerous bars and restaurants on Roosevelt Avenue, which runs through both of those areas, are considered the primary reason for the numbers. In parts of the Corona neighborhood, there are reduced public transportation options and more impaired motorists resort to driving. The police have also targeted areas of Queens in an effort to reduce crime and drunk driving. Sobriety checkpoints are part of that initiative, as well as 100 ‘impact' officers assigned to the area.

In Manhattan, the West Village area recorded 149 New York DWI arrests. The precincts with the lowest arrests in the city were the Lower East Side (54) and East Village (53). The totals for those two areas however are twice the figures from last year. Since 2001, DWI arrests in the five boroughs have increased 93.4%, though so far this year the number is down 8% from 2009.

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