3 Memphis Police Officers Refuse Alcohol Tests For DUI

3 Memphis Police officers were arrested this year for DUI and all refused to submit an alcohol test. Joma Harris, Roger Williams, and David Royal all refused to submit an alcohol test and it may have paid off for two of those officers. Joma Harris was arrested on April Fool’s Day for DUI as well as (failure to follow) duty upon striking a highway fixture, violating registration laws and leaving the scene of an accident. However, prosecutors dismissed all of those charges against Harris who instead plead guilty to reckless driving. Roger Williams also had his DUI charge dismissed and pleaded guilty to reckless driving. Both men received diversion which means they could have that charge expunged from their records.

David Royal, another officer with the Memphis Police Department, was arrested on July 22, 2012 and refused to submit an alcohol blood test as well. Royal did not get off so easy though and was taken to the Old Allen Station Precinct where a nurse drew two tubes of blood. Since Royal was involved in an accident resulting in injury, the State’s implied consent law gave officers the right to draw his blood. Many people throughout the state believe that officers should be held to a higher standard and that these 3 officers are setting a poor example and are cheating the system. Mike Williams, President of the Memphis Police Association, noted that officers often succumb to the high stress associated with the job and must be helped. Williams made a statement saying, “Given the nature of our job, there is a high divorce rate, high alcoholism rate” and “I like the second chance because sometimes we need to get people help, as opposed to just penalizing them.”

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced Tennessee DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Minnesota Gophers Basketball Player Skips Jail for DUI 

Minnesota Gophers basketball player, Trevor Mbakwe, will not be going to jail for the DUI charge he received during July in Minnesota. Mbakwe’s attorney argued that Mbakwe is attending Alcoholics Anonymous and is fighting depression. He pleaded Judge Jose Fernandez to take these things into consideration and give him extra years of probation instead of jail time. Although Judge Jose Fernandez did not send Mbakwe to jail, he did manage to extend his probation an additional two years for parole violation of his DUI along with assigning him mandatory community service of 20 hours per month.

Mbakwe’s Wednesday hearing was summoned to address a September DUI conviction for the July arrest in Minnesota. He was put on probation in Florida as part of a pretrial intervention program for a felony battery charge in 2009 and was still on probation when he was arrested in Minnesota.

Fernandez gave Mbakwe a fierce warning at the court hearing and told him, “You’re not a cat; you don’t have nine lives. You’re going to do something and it’s going to be the end of any chances you have. This may be it; this may be your last chance.”

At the hearing Mbakwe, who was dressed in a blue short sleeve dress shirt, was very serious and told the audience: “…It’s been stressing me and my family out and I’m glad it’s over. … I’m just going to stay on the right track now; no more slip-ups. The judge gave me another chance and I’m grateful for that…” Sources claim that Mbakwe is trying to change and that his coaches and family are fully supporting him. In addition to complying with his punishments, he will also be meeting with a University of Minnesota sports psychologist. The University of Minnesota said there will be no statement released from coach, Tubby Smith, regarding decisions on Mbakwe. However, it has been stated that Mbakwe’s future with the NBA has been put at risk.

If you or someone you know has been drunk driving, contact a skilled DUI Minnesota attorney to help fight for your case.

Florida Cop Quits After Getting DUI

Pinellas Park, Florida police officer Matthew Patsch resigned after he was charged with a DUI and allegedly caused damage to another vehicle on October 11. Patsch was placed on “administrative leave with pay immediately.”

Last Thursday at approximately 9:45 p.m., police officials received a call that there had been a car crash on Seventh Avenue N and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street. Police officials stated that Patsch was drunk driving when he rear-ended a vehicle. A St. Petersburg man told police that “he was stopped at a light when a vehicle driven by Patsch hit his Toyota Tundra…Patsch told everyone at the scene he was a police officer, but denied that he’d been drinking.”

Police investigation reports showed that Patsch’s blood alcohol level was .189 and .192, which is twice the legal drinking limit in Florida. The crash that Patsch was responsible for caused damages of about $500 to his Jeep and about $1000 to the Toyota. He was taken to Pinellas County jail, but was released on a $500 bail. Patsch is summoned for a court hearing on November 12.

If you or someone you know has been drunk driving, contact a skilled DUI Florida attorney to help fight for your case.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty Claims Officer Lied In DUI

New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Moriarty was arrested for DUI on July 31, 2012 and immediately denied the charges. He has now submitted video that he claims contradicts the arresting officer’s claims. Moriarty has stuck by his belief that Joseph Dibuonaventura, the arresting officer, was out to get him and that he had not consumed any alcohol prior to driving. The officer claims that he pulled Moriarty over because he cut him off before asking if Moriarty had been drinking after apparently detecting an odor of alcohol on the assemblyman’s breath. While Moriarty denied having had any alcohol in his system, he still refused to submit a breathalyzer test fearing that the officer may skew the results.

Dibuonaventura then arrested Paul Moriarty for driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain lane and refusing to submit to a breath test. Moriarty did submit a blood test several hours after his arrest and claims the results show no trace of alcohol in his system. After his release from jail, Moriarty claimed that the officer had been fired once before and reinstated. Now, Moriarty and his attorney John Eastlack Jr., have filed a 27-count criminal complaint against Dibuonaventura accusing him of lying and falsifying the police report. Now, a municipal judge will have to evaluate the complaint and decide whether or not to issue charges. Paul Moriarty once served as Mayor the the Washington Township as well as an investigative journalist for CBS and is scheduled to appear in court on November 8. If convicted, Moriarty could lose his license for up to 7 months.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact a skilled New Jersey DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Woman Charged With DUI After Drinking Hand Sanitizer

A Connecticut woman, Jennifer Wilcox, is dealing with a DUI charge for drinking half of a bottle of hand sanitizer. Wilcox, who is 36 years of age, was pulled over by authorities on October 5, 2012 near Rapallo Avenue in the town of Middletown. Officials claim they pulled her over for suspicion of drunk driving “after she sped around a corner, lost control and almost hit another car police had stopped.”