Texas Senate Committee Considers DWI Breath Test Bill

Drunk driving suspects in Texas would no longer be allowed to refuse a breath or blood test under certain circumstances, under a bill being considered by the state Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

Texas already allows police officers to take a breath or blood sample if a DWI suspect causes a wreck that results in death or serious injury.

SB 261, by Greenville Sen. Bob Deuell, would expand that authority in cases where the accident involved injury that required the victim to be taken to a hospital or clinic for medical care. It would also permit blood and breath tests of DWI suspects driving with a child in the car, or suspects with a prior intoxication felony conviction or two prior DWI convictions.

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley testified before the committee, saying that breath and blood test refusals make it hard to convict drunk drivers. He said more than half of all DWI suspects refuse to take a breath test, and while officers try and get a warrant for a blood test, a process that can take hours, these suspects sober up.

If SB 261 passes, he said, it would go a long way to help law enforcement officials get dangerous repeat drunk drivers off the roads, as well as create other benefits for the criminal justice system. "That effect will be much more successful prosecution, much less waste of the resources in our courtrooms and, frankly, safer highways," said Bradley.

Austin already has such a program in place. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo testified that his officers have already conducted three "no-refusal" weekends, where a judge is on-hand to issue court orders for those DWI suspects that refuse a breathalyzer. Acevedo said his program has been very successful, netting nearly 60 misdemeanor drunk drivers. "There's a lot of evidence to show that these programs work," he said.

Source: Texas Senate, www.senate.state.tx.us

Austin drunk driving suspects cannot refuse a blood test this weekend

Austin Police will once again crack down on suspect drunk drivers with another no-refusal weekend beginning at 9 p.m. Friday night.

That means if you're suspected of driving drunk and won't submit to a breath test, cops will get a warrant to draw your blood.

”For me personally I think it's a great idea,” driver Elaine Law told CBS 42 News. “I realize people have concerns about it being an intrusion on their privacy, but you know wrecks are really an intrusion too.”

Police say they’re cracking down on college kids behind the wheel for Spring Break. They insist the no-refusal weekend wasn’t timed to target all the out-of-towners in Austin for South by Southwest and the Austin Rodeo.

“I don't like it, but I watch what I do anyway,” said George Fritz, one of many motorists who’ll be headed to the rodeo this weekend.

The no-refusal weekend will end at 5 a.m. Saturday morning.

Austin Police made 54 DWI arrests during the first no-refusal weekend Halloween night. Another two dozen were booked New Year’s Eve and 21 were busted Superbowl Sunday.

source

Firefighter balks burglary attempt at downtown station

A man and a juvenile are behind bars after a firefighter foiled the apparent burglary of a fire station, according to reports from the Columbus Police Department

Zerrick Taylor of Columbus and an unidentified juvenile accomplice were arrested Tuesday afternoon by the CPD. Firefighter Mark Ward of Fire Station 1 in downtown Columbus flagged down CPD officer David Hunt and told him he saw two black males coming out of the fire station as he was pulling into the building.

Ward stated he saw two city-owned laptops on the floor. Ward confronted the two and they took off running. Hunt tracked down the pair and transported them back to the fire station where Ward positively identified them as the two he had encountered. The juvenile was transferred to the Juvenile Detention Center and charged with felony attempted grand larceny. Taylor was transferred to the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center. Nothing was found missing from the fire station. The case remains under investigation. Taylor’s bond has been set at $1,500.

The following other people were arrested on felony charges, according to reports released from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office:

• Thomas Earl Austin, Jr., 36, of 156 Pandora Drive in Columbus, was arrested by the CPD last Thursday. He is charged with one of count felony possession of a weapon by a felon

• n Warren Dickerson, 53, of 1514 Martin Luther King Drive in Columbus, was arrested by the LCSO Wednesday. He was charged with one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana and one count of felony possession of cocaine.

• Rufus Pope, 46, of 2213 Washington Ave. in Columbus, was arrested last Tuesday by the LCSO. He is charged with felony DUI, third offense.

• Joseph Wilson Koger, Jr., 29, of 40018 Hamilton Road in Hamilton, was arrested by the LSCO last Tuesday. He is charged with one count of felony possession of methamphetamine, one count of misdemeanor reckless driving and one count misdemeanor failure to provide proof of insurance.

• Ricky Lee Spruill, 32, of 8462 Highway 182 in Columbus, was arrested by the LSCO last Wednesday. He is charged with one count of felony burglary.

• Cassie Deann Baker, 21, of 8462 Highway 182 E. in Columbus was arrested by the LSCO last Wednesday. She is charged with one count of felony burglary.

• Mary Gray, 59, of 618 Ninth Ave. S. in Columbus, was arrested by the CPD last Wednesday. She is charged with one count felony DUI, third offense and one count of misdemeanor driving with no insurance.

APD holds 'No Refusal' initiative

Austin police’s “No Refusal” was held Friday night. From Friday at 9 p.m. until Saturday at 5 a.m., any person arrested for DWI will have to give a breath or blood sample.

Police fear the combination of the SXSW crowd and those celebrating spring break might be deadly on our roadways.

If anyone is arrested for a DWI police will get a judge-issued warrant for a breath or blood specimen.

KVUE rode along on the last initiative on Super Bowl Sunday where police netted 21 arrests.

The program has been very controversial here in Austin. But the majority of out-of-towners we spoke with like the idea. Rob Turner and Brittany Thomas are from the Big Apple.

"I agree with it, actually. I think they should have to do that no matter what,” said Thomas.

“We have roadblocks in New York, anyway … so we're used to that kind of stuff,” added Turner.

In two weeks on March 30, city leaders and Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo will host a public forum on the blood draw issue. It will be held in the city council chambers and starts at 6pm.

source

Short on money, losing patience

By Juan Castillo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, March 22, 2009

Jobless for months, his money running low and his patience burned thin, Roberto Romero is running a little hot.

As he ponders his predicament, Romero, a fan of the fights, evokes the hard-punching style of one of his boxing idols, the iconic heavyweight Rocky Marciano.

"The politicians need to do something," said Romero, a machine shop helper who was making about $400 a week before he was laid off in November. "When people get laid off, they're playing with their dignity and their necessity to have income to live."

A short, proud man with dark hair cropped in a tight buzz, Romero, 55, fires off complaints that show his frustration with the sick economy and his inability to find another low-wage job that matches his skills.

For months now, Romero has spent large chunks of his days looking for work, mostly at the bustling Workforce Solutions job center in North Austin, which was filled earlier this month with dozens of jobless people like him. First Romero prints out long slips of paper bearing job listings, then takes them to a computer where he can apply for them — usually five to seven jobs whenever he visits the center, several times a week.

But the vast majority of employers don't bother to respond, leaving Romero collecting old job slips the way a kid collects trading cards. When he spoke to the American-Statesman, Romero carried at least two dozen slips in a plastic bag, along with a thick guide on résumé writing and cover letters.

He said that his driving record includes one misdemeanor DWI and said he gave up drinking six years ago. But he suspects that being truthful about his record has hurt his chances with would-be employers.

"I want to work," he said several times during a long conversation at the job center, surrounded by long rows of computers, each one being used. "I want success for me and my son. In 10 years I'm going to be retired, and what kind of retirement am I going to have?"

To keep going, he said he has borrowed about $10,000 from his brother. Romero, who is divorced, and his 17-year-old son, Roberto Jr., ("he's a very good kid — he wants to be a police officer") live in a $650-a-month, two-bedroom duplex in North Austin. Romero receives about $320 a week in unemployment insurance benefits and about $325 a month in food stamps, benefits he said he would gladly lose.

"I would rather work," he said.

3 Men Accused of Being in Poaching Ring

Report of Gunfire Leads to Scores of Animal Parts

A report of illegal gunfire in Lucketts last year led authorities to a trove of deer meat, antlers and hawk claws belonging to three men suspected of being members of a poaching ring, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office announced last week.

The investigation began Nov. 29, when a Lucketts man called authorities about 9:50 p.m. to report three men shooting from a vehicle on Rosefinch Circle. The resident confronted the men, and they fled, authorities said.

About 11 p.m. that night, a Loudoun sheriff's deputy pulled over a truck matching the description the resident gave. The driver, Joseph A. Hobbie, 35, of Martinsburg, W.Va, was alone, and the deputy noticed blood and animal hair in the bed of the truck, said Loudoun sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell.

Hobbie was arrested and faced multiple charges, including DUI, unlawful possession of wildlife and obtaining a hunting license under false pretenses. He was found guilty on all counts March 9 and sentenced to 10 days in jail and $1,100 in fines. His hunting license was suspended for three years and his driver's license for six months.

The investigation led authorities to the two men they believe were with Hobbie that night in November: Jason Andrew Austin, 28, and Josh Dean Pratt, 23, both of Leesburg. In December, authorities searched their residences and found 78 sets of deer antlers, 72 turkey beards, three firearms, the claws of two hawks, four partially white deer hides, and packaged venison and other parts from at least seven deer.

Austin and Pratt were arrested this month, and both face a slew of illegal hunting charges. Austin also faces federal game violations for possession of the claws of federally protected birds, authorities said. Both men are due in court April 29.

Pratt's attorney, Eric J. Demetriades, declined to discuss the specifics of the case but said his client "still maintains his innocence."

Calls to Austin's home and Hobbie's attorney for comment were not returned.

Troxell said that although illegal hunting incidents are not uncommon in the largely rural western part of the county, the number of animals involved in this case was unusual.

"It's possible this operation was more extensive beyond what we discovered at this one time," Troxell said. "It's unclear as to what their intent was with the number of items."

Bruce Lemmert, a conservation police officer with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries who helped investigate the case, said it is particularly egregious because Loudoun has very liberal deer-hunting laws, making it unnecessary to skirt restrictions.

He said Loudoun often records the highest number of legally killed deer in the state in a given year: about 6,500, compared with rural counties that typically register 2,000 to 3,000.

Loudoun hunters can kill deer on private property with the consent of the landowner anytime during deer hunting season, which lasts from September through March, Lemmert said. He said the suspects in this case were shooting from a vehicle, on a roadway and near residences, all of which is illegal.

"We feel it was a disregard for any hunting laws at all, or hunting ethics, and the charges reflect that," Lemmert said.

Lemmert said venison is sometimes sold illegally, although there is no proof that was being done in this case. The venison seized from the men was donated to Hunters for the Hungry, a nonprofit group that provides game meat to the needy.

APD to hold another DWI blood draw this week

KVUE News

KVUE News has learned Austin police will hold another DWI blood draw initiative this week.

Starting Friday at 9 p.m., police will get quick warrants to draw blood from some suspected drunk drivers who refuse to give breath or blood samples.

The controversial program has been used several times in the last year on nights when police expect to see an increase in drunk drivers.

source

Ocala man charged in crash that killed 85-year-old

OCALA - A 21-year-old Ocala man who was involved in a two-vehicle crash that killed a former World War II pilot in early January was arrested Tuesday by the Florida Highway Patrol.

After the Jan. 7 wreck at Southeast 24th Street and Southeast 40th Avenue that claimed the life of 85-year-old Harvey J. Staley, blood was taken from Christopher Feliciani.

Test results showed that Feliciani had a blood alcohol content of .022, below the legal limit of .08, but difluoroethane was also found in his system, according to a follow-up report written by Cpl. Susan Barge. Barge obtained an arrest warrant for Feliciani on Tuesday and arrested him at his mother's Silver Springs home Tuesday afternoon.

Feliciani was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was booked on charges of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter shortly after 5:30 p.m., according to jail records.

Difluoroethane is a chemical commonly found in aerosol cans of dust remover. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is sometimes abused as a chemical inhalant. Barge noted that fact in her report.

The trooper also calculated that Feliciani's speed was 75 mph in a 35 mph speed zone near Maplewood Elementary School.

According to the crash report, Feliciani was heading west on Southeast 24th Street in a 1998 Ford truck, while Staley was traveling in the opposite direction in a 1997 Ford truck. As Feliciani's truck rounded the curve, it careened off the road. The vehicle continued to travel on the shoulder, then spun counterclockwise. It ended up in the eastbound lane, colliding with Staley's vehicle.

Staley died at the scene. It was the first traffic fatality for the year.

source

Police & Fire Briefs for March 23, 2009

Police probe man’s shooting by wife

A Baton Rouge man is in the hospital after being shot by his wife Saturday evening, police said Sunday.

Police spokesman Lt. Charles Armstrong said the wife shot her husband around 5:30 p.m. in a home at 2936 Greenwell St.

The man is in stable condition and no charges have been filed against the woman, Armstrong said. Police are still investigating the shooting.

Authorities arrest 3 on suspicion of DWI

Authorities arrested at least three people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish and booked them into Parish Prison between 3 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, booking records show.

Those booked and the counts against them:

• Tyler J. Rubley, 22, 802 W. Campus, first-offense DWI and driving the wrong way on a one way street.
• Austin Allen Conn, 22, 3135 Highland Road Apt. No. 510, first-offense DWI and reckless operation of a vehicle.
• Daniel York Carleton, 28, 710 E. Boyd Drive No. 203, first-offense DWI, failure to change address on driver’s license, speeding, improper lane usage, reckless operation of a vehicle and motor vehicle insurance required.

Superior court judge applicants offer their histories

Monday, March 23, 2009

Derek Carlisle, 43, currently works in the Mohave County Attorney's Office. He has a bachelor's and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with honors.

He interned at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Travis County Attorney's Office. He was accepted to the Arizona Bar in 1993 and worked for the Maricopa County Superior Court as a bailiff to tax court judge William Schafer until 1994, when he was hired by the Mohave County Attorney's Office.

Carlisle also assisted in rewriting the Mohave County Local Rules of Court in 2002 and 2008.

According to his application, Carlisle has had a few inquires about professional misconduct to the Arizona State Bar. However, the bar filed no charges.

He prosecuted the Robert Benjamin case in 2006. Benjamin shot to death his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Benjamin accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to life in prison.

Carlisle also has experience teaching other attorneys and has been a board member of the Kingman Boys and Girls Club. He was also nominated three times for felony prosecutor of the year award from the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys' Advisory Council.

Ron Gilleo, 44, is the current Mohave County Legal Defender. He has a bachelor's of science in Justice Studies from Arizona State University and a juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.

He served as a detention officer and then a probation intern at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office from 1987 to 1992. He graduated from the academy as the cadet with the highest academic achievement. From 1992 to 1996, he served as a detention officer at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, then as an associate intern and attorney at Haralson and Associates from 1995 to 1996 and as a defense attorney intern at the University of Oklahoma's Criminal Defense Clinic in 1995. He then moved to the Mohave County Attorney's Office in 1996 and became the County Legal Defender in 2000.

Gilleo was admitted to the Arizona and Oklahoma State bars in 1996. He resigned from the Oklahoma Bar in 1998.

Gilleo has handled mostly criminal cases since arriving at the CAO in 1996, but while at Haralson and Associates he did handle civil cases such as collections and family law.

He ran for Division IV Judge in 2006 and lost.

Gilleo is also involved in the Kingman Boys and Girls Club as a basketball coach. He also coached basketball and Pop Warner Football for the city of Kingman Parks and Recreation Department, has been a Boy Scout leader and a church youth leader.

Lee Jantzen, 48, is the current Mohave County Superior Court Commissioner. He graduated from Midwestern State University in 1987 with a bachelors of arts and from the University of Wyoming College of Law with a juris doctorate in 1991. While in law school he wrote legislation for the Wyoming Attorney General's Crime Victim Compensation Staff. Some of the legislation written by Jantzen was passed by the Wyoming Legislature.

He was admitted to the Arizona State Bar in 1992 and the Florida Bar in 1999. He has retired from the Florida Bar.

Jantzen worked for the Mohave County Attorney's Office from 1992 to 1994, when he left to become an assistant city attorney for the City of Kingman. He returned to MCAO in 1996 and then left in 1999 to serve as an assistant state attorney for the Florida State Attorney's Office. He returned to MCAO in 2001 and in 2007 became a Superior Court Commissioner.

As commissioner Jantzen has handled a number of criminal as well as juvenile, juvenile drug court and fugitive cases.

Jantzen prosecuted the Ray Carlton case in 2005. Carlton and a 16-year-old girl stabbed and shot a woman to death on U.S. 93. Carlton was sentenced to life in prison.

Jantzen was one of several defendants sued for improper prosecution of an arson case in 2007. The case was dismissed in 2009.

Three charges of misconduct were filed against Jantzen with the Arizona State Bar in 1997, 1998 and 2004. In 1997, a defendant accused Jantzen of conspiring with a judge and defense counsel. In 1998, the mother of sexual assault defendant accused him of inappropriate conduct, and in 2004 a defendant in a stabbing case accused him of misleading the tribunal. Jantzen did not have to respond to the bar for any of the charges.

Jantzen has served as a member of the Board of the Mohave County Bar Association, the Court Appointed Special Advocate board, the Child Fatality Review Team and is a member of Rotary. He also coaches Little League, youth basketball and Teen Court. He was named Prosecutor of the Year in 1998 and 2004.

Thomas Jones, 40, is the only candidate that currently works outside of the county. Jones is a prosecutor for the La Paz County Attorney's Office. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 1994. In 1997, he graduated with a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.

He was admitted to practice law in the Arizona Supreme Court in 1997, in the United States District Court for Arizona in 2000, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in 2001 and the U. S. Supreme Court in 2001.

Jones has worked as a Lake Havasu City Prosecutor, a Yuma County Attorney, had his own practice in Lake Havasu City and is currently the chief deputy criminal attorney for the La Paz County Attorney's Office.

He also has experience in bankruptcy, domestic relations, dependencies, juvenile, estate planning, guardianship, probate, personal injury, contract disputes and civil litigation.

Jones served in the U.S. Air Force, was a member of the Federalist Society, served as the Vice Chair of the Mohave County Bar Association, worked as member of the Volunteer Lawyer Program, served on the board of directors for the Community Legal Services Board and as chairman of the finance committee for the River Cities United Way. He was named Mohave County Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2006, Volunteer Lawyer Program Attorney of the Year in 2006 and Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona in 2007.

Steven Moss, 43, is a private attorney in Bullhead City. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with bachelor's degree in 1992 and graduated cum laude with a juris doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan in 1995.

During law school he worked in the Legal Aid of Central Michigan Office.

He was admitted to practice law in the Arizona State Supreme Court in 1995, the U.S. District Court for Arizona in 1997 and the Hualapai Tribal Court in 2000.

He has worked in private practice since 1996. His work has been primarily civil cases involving commercial transactions, contracts, real estate, construction, domestic relations, custody, estate planning and as a private arbitrator.

He recently settled a case for a client who was alleged to have sold a defective MRI to a customer.

He has also served as a school board member for the Colorado River Union High School District, in the U.S. Marine Corps, as a member of the Arizona Bar Association, a member of the Mohave County Bar, the Mohave County and Bullhead City Judicial Selection committees, as a volunteer attorney for Community Legal Services, Wills for Heroes and Seniors, and as a volunteer attorney for the Boys and Girls Club of the Colorado River. He is also a member of the Bullhead City Rotary Club, Bullhead City Meals on Wheels, the Shelter for Youth at Risk, Westcare Safehouse and on the advisory board to the Mohave County Probation Department.

He was named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 1997 and 2008, received the Outstanding Contribution Award in 2004 and the Pro Bono Service Award in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

He's a volunteer coach for his daughter's soccer team, a member of the Colorado River Republicans and an auxiliary member of the Colorado River Women's Republicans.

John Taylor, 52, is currently a judge in the Kingman/Cerbat Justice Court. He received a bachelor's of arts from Marshall University in 1980 and a juris doctorate from the University of Toledo in 1983. He was admitted to the Ohio State Bar in 1983 and the Arizona State Bar in 1986.

He worked in private practice in Ohio until 1985 and then joined the Mohave County Attorney's Office. In 1999, he became a judge in the Kingman/Cerbat Justice Court.

While working in private practice, Taylor handled civil, criminal, real estate, domestic relations and juvenile cases. As a judge, the majority of his cases have involved traffic or criminal matters.

As a judge, Taylor has had one suit filed against him in federal court. The case was dismissed.

Other complaints have been filed with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, but no disciplinary action has been taken.

In the late 1980s, another defendant filed a complaint against him with the state bar alleging Taylor had violated the terms of plea agreement. The complaint was dismissed.

He was arrested for DUI in 1988; the conviction was later set aside.

He has served as a member of the Board for the Kingman Center for the Performing Arts, a member of the Mohave County Committee on Judicial Education and Training, the Arizona Supreme Court Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, the ASC Committee on Public Access to the Courts and the Mohave County Courts Strategic Planning Committee.

He has also served as a legal advisor to Kingman Aid for Abused People, helped with the Boy Scouts, Pop Warner football and is Vice Chairman of the Kingman Area Meth Coalition.

He was awarded Mohave County Prosecutor of the Year in 1990.

Charlotte Wells, 61, is currently in private practice and represents the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District. Wells graduated with a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 1969 and a master's degree in education from ASU in 1970. She earned her juris doctorate in 1982 from the University of Arizona.

She was admitted to the Arizona Bar in 1982, the U.S. District Court in Arizona in 1983 and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1983.

Besides NACFD, Wells has worked as an attorney for Mohave Community College, the Mohave County Attorney's Office, the City of Kingman and in private practice.

She was appointed to the Mohave County Superior Court Division I seat in 2002 and served until 2003. Division I handles mostly civil cases in Bullhead City.

She is familiar with civil matters involving taxing districts, public governance, public accounting, public records, public meeting laws, election laws, employment, fire and safety codes, real estate, risk management, personal injury, contract, estate planning, probate, corporate, malpractice, insurance, family, municipal, planning and zoning and criminal laws.

In 1994 and 1995, Wells helped negotiate the renewal of Kingman's Colorado Water Allocation with the U.S. Department of Interior and helped create the Mohave County Water Authority.

In 1996, she helped with the contract for the city's wastewater treatment plant.

In 1996, she defended the city in a lawsuit brought by Mohave Disposal after the city annexed an area into the city limits. The case made its way to the Arizona Supreme Court. Mohave Disposal later dismissed it.

In 1984, she was arrested and convicted for DUI.

Wells served on the State Bar Board of Governors from 2000 to 2002, on the State Bar Member Assistance Committee and the State Bar Public Law Section, the Mohave County Merit Commission, the Mohave County Self-Insured Risk Board and the Mohave County Employee Benefits Trust Board.

She is also a member of the Mohave County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, was a member of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and the Arizona City Attorneys Association.