Posts Tagged ‘Arrest’

After an individual is arrested for allegedly committing a crime, certain legal proceedings will take place. Although the presence of an attorney is not required, it is in your best interest to obtain the assistance of a knowledgeable criminal attorney who will properly represent you and answer any questions you may have. If you or a loved one has been arrested, don’t take a chance. Contact Irvine criminal lawyer Staycie Sena for to see what she can do for you.

Initially, the individual will be booked by the police and placed in a holding cell until his initial court appearance. The initial appearance will be the first proceeding in front of a judge. During this appearance, the judge informs him of his rights and assesses his case to determine whether there is probable cause for the initial arrest and holding.

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“You have the right to remain silent.” This fact of arrest is so commonly known it is almost cliché. However, other aspects of arrest and detention are not so well understood. If you are arrested, there are specific issues you need to keep in mind.

Once you have been taken into custody, you will be fingerprinted. This is not an option, and while you will not likely be wrestled to the ground or forced into submission to this or other tests, your refusal will not reflect well on you later. (In fact, your lack of cooperation could even be used against you.) You may also be asked to provide handwriting and voice samples, and your property may be searched. Keep in mind that at this point, the police are trying to determine as many of the facts of the case as possible.

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Under the U.S. Constitution and most state criminal procedure codes, criminal suspects retain specific rights with respect to police informants. Under the Fourth Amendment, probable cause or reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed is always required before law enforcement is privileged to arrest a private citizen. Orange County DUI attorneys know that probable cause is formed a variety of ways—typically through police investigative tools and eyewitness accounts. Sometimes, police are able to apprehend a criminal based on a tip from a known or anonymous informant. The law imputes varying levels of probable cause and reliability with respect to informants, and police are not necessarily permitted to pursue a criminal based on an unreliable, anonymous, or unknown informant.

Criminal procedure law is friendlier to law enforcement in situations where an informant is identified by name and has been relied upon successfully in the past. In this circumstance, it is likely that the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated by police effectuating an arrest based on a tipster. Conversely, courts have held that probable cause is not present in cases where police arrest a suspect based on an anonymous tip from an unknown, unreliable source. In these cases, police should have used the tip to investigate further and garner more evidence to form probable cause before arresting the suspect.

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There are many components to a DUI charge and arrest. Law enforcement officers observe the physical characteristics of any person under a suspicion of driving under the influence. Observations are made during the initial traffic stop, the field sobriety test, and the subsequent arrest. If you are facing a recent DUI arrest, it is important to get the representation from an Orange County DUI attorney who is experienced in finding alternative explanations for the various observations recorded by the arresting officers.

It is common for Orange County DUI attorneys to uncover inconsistencies in the police officer’s report. In most situations, the arresting officer will fill out an Alcohol Influence Report that is intended to detail the officer’s perceptions of the DUI suspect. One common inconsistency involves a situation in which the blood alcohol content (BAC) of a suspect is particularly high in comparison with the observations made in the Alcohol Influence Report. This could suggest inaccuracies in the chemical analysis of the suspect’s BAC. An experienced Orange County DUI attorney will assuredly advocate his or her client with regard to these potential chemical incompatibilities.

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A Costa Mesa woman has been charged with driving under the influence and causing injury after she hit a pedestrian. The pedestrian, 17-year-old Newport Harbor High School student Crystal Morales was crossing a crosswalk shortly after 2:45pm when she was struck. The high school student was taken to a local hospital where doctors induced a coma so that Morales could recover from internal bleeding, brain swelling, head trauma and other internal injuries.

The 38-year-old driver Marie Lippincott, a fellow classmate’s mother, was driving a Chevy Tahoe northbound on Irvine Ave. when the accident occurred. An officer arrested Lippincott and is currently being held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. After further investigation, records showed that in 2005, Lippincott pleaded guilty to theft, burglary and obtaining prescription drugs by fraud.

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A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has been accused of driving under the influence after he caused a DUI-related accident.  38-year-old Richard J. Patterson of West Covina was off duty when he crashed the motorcycle that he and his wife were on into another vehicle on the 405 freeway.  Patterson was taken to the local hospital for a hip injury while his wife was hospitalized with a knee injury and abrasions to the arms and hands.

After investigation, it was determined that Paterson’s blood alcohol level was at 0.15 percent two hours after the accident occurred.  Paterson’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday where he faces charges of driving under the influence causing injury and driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more causing injury.  If convicted, Paterson could be facing probation and up to three years in state prison.

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Many cities throughout Southern California set up multiple DUI sobriety checkpoints during weekends and holidays. Costa Mesa, however, is choosing to conduct fewer checkpoints in favor or more DUI saturation patrols.  By doing so, arresting officers are able to target more drunk drivers on any given night without having to announce the time and location prior to its commencement.

Unlike DUI sobriety checkpoints which are structured, DUI saturation patrol officers are able to roam the cities, ensuring the safety of motorists without having to make a big scene. Most motorists are able to research the DUI checkpoint locations and oftentimes, avoid a certain location knowing a checkpoint is scheduled to occur.  The city of Costa Mesa believes that by reducing the amount of DUI checkpoints and relying more on DUI saturation patrols, officers can be more effective in arresting those who have been driving under the influence.

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A Garden Grove man has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he caused a DUI-related accident in Irvine shortly before 7pm.

The man was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the Orange County Fire Authority’s Eternal Flame Memorial in the city of Irvine. The man, whose name has not been released, damaged a gate, knocked down a light pole, jumped a curb and drove through a small block wall before crashing into the memorial. The driver was taken to the local hospital with a broken foot and was later arrested for an Orange County DUI.

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A 35-year-old Stanton man has been arrested for driving under the influence after he caused a fatal DUI accident that took the life of a 50-year-old man.

The accident occurred at 5:15am on Saturday morning in the 500 block of Beach Boulevard in Anaheim when the driver of a 2000 Chevrolet S-10 pickup, Alexandro Cedillo, failed to notice a pedestrian crossing the road.  Unfortunately, the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.  Cedillo stopped and stayed until officers arrived and he was arrested on suspicion driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

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An Orange County Superior Court judge has sentenced a 28-year-old male to seven years in prison for a fatal DUI related accident that occurred in early July.

The accident occurred at 12:50am on July 17^th, 2011 when the male driver, Yannis Ismael Galanis, was driving his GMC pickup at high speeds southbound on the I-5 freeway near Disneyland Drive.  After suddenly swerving into a lane, his GMC crashed into another vehicle and continued up a dirt embankment before hitting a concrete barrier; the truck re-entered traffic lanes before coming to a stop on the freeway.  Galanis, whose BAC levels was 0.11 percent, and his passenger Edgar Murillo, were taken to the local hospital where unfortunately, 29-year-old Murillo died hours later.

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A 65-year-old Orange County woman has been arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence after she crashed her vehicle into two pedestrians in Laguna Beach. According to the Orange County Register, Sharon Niggemann was driving her SUV, when she failed to see or stop for two pedestrians who were crossing Laguna Canyon Rd near the Festival of Arts/ Pageant of the Masters.

One of the pedestrians, a 65-year-old woman, was taken to OC Mission Hospital with major trauma to her body while Niggemann was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.  It is unclear whether the second pedestrian was also injured.

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A former O. C. Newport Beach City Attorney was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after causing a solo DUI-related accident.

At 7:30pm on Friday, 53-year-old David Hunt of Santa Ana was driving in a parking lot five minutes away from his office at the west end of Ford Road near Mesa View when he hit a parked vehicle.  Once officers arrived at the scene of the accident, they had Hunt perform a DUI field sobriety test before he was arrested.  At around 2:10am, Hunt was released on his own recognizance and officers declined to provide the results of the tests and blood alcohol level.

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A 17-year-old Orange County boy has been arrested and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, causing a collision and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.  The teen was driving a van northbound near the 1600 block of Harbor Boulevard near Disneyland at around 4am when he allegedly struck two homeless women who were walking at the crosswalk.

According to the investigation, one woman was thrown a considerable distance into the southbound lanes while the second woman came to a rest in the left-turn lane of the northbound lanes.  Unfortunately, both women died at the scene of the accident and the teen was arrested and booked at the Orange County Juvenile Hall on several counts including a California DUI.

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A fatal DUI accident in Riverside County has resulted in an Orange County man being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and manslaughter.

The accident, which occurred at 3:35am on Saturday morning, took the life of 20-year-old Joseph Castro, from Santa Ana and injured two teenage girls, a 19-year-old from the city of Orange and a 16-year-old from Santa Ana. The driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Victor Martinez from Santa Ana, was allegedly traveling at high speeds when he crashed into a dirt embankment along the side of the road. Martinez was then arrested and booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of driving under the influence as well as manslaughter.

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A 27-year old Orange County man is being arraigned on driving under the influence and murder charges after he allegedly caused a DUI-related accident that killed his 20 year old nephew.

Apparently, the alleged driver, Tapu Aniceto Sitagata, was drinking with a group of friends and family members when they were asked to leave the bar after becoming too rowdy. While still in the bar’s parking lot, both the bartender and a local arresting officer offered to call a taxi to take the group home. Sitagata and his friends refused, claiming a taxi cab had already been called.

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In a twist of fate right out of a Hollywood “B” movie, the District Attorney who prosecuted Paris Hilton last August for cocaine possession has himself been arrested for– get this, cocaine possession.

47-year old Clark County prosecutor David Schubert was arrested over the weekend on one count of cocaine  possession. Rumor has it that Schubert used another man, Raymond Streeter, to buy him $40 worth of rock cocaine every few days. Both Schubert and Streeter were arrested over the weekend after they were spotted driving in a neighborhood known for drug sales.  They were pulled over on a routine traffic stop, the car was searched and cocaine was found.

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After several days this headline continues to highlight the front page of ocregister.com. Reader’s comments are scathing with “get rid of her now- she is a cancer in that department” and “this little piggy won’t be able to driver for 1 year” ** being among the most caustic. I feel for Monica Aguilar, who was was pulled over around 9:25 p.m. on the eastbound 10 Freeway in Los Angeles, according to the California Highway Patrol. Although originally stopped for tinted windows, officers suspected intoxication, gave her field sobriety tests and tested her blood alcohol concentration (BAC), which came in above .08, the legal limit. She was booked into jail and later released.

I feel for her because in addition to the court and DMV’s onerous penalties that come with a DUI conviction, severe public condemnation like the comments above and employment consequences (she may very well lose her job over the arrest), she may not receive the due process that each and every one of us are entitled to. Her case will no doubt receive special attention from prosecutors and judges and valid defenses will be cast with an air of suspicion. Imagine if her attorneys reviewed the blood alcohol machinery’s calibration logs and found that the machines were not properly calibrated and concluded that her blood alcohol result cannot be trusted (a common practice of DUI lawyers.) What juror is not going to say to himself “she’s only arguing this technicality because she’s a police officer and she knows the ropes?” Demanding accurate evidence before depriving someone of their liberty is something that we should want for each of us, even police officers.

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The rapper Lil’ Wayne started a one year jail sentence for possession of a deadly weapon yesterday. More precisely, he was convicted in New York for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. (As a side note, his sentencing was delayed twice. Once so that he could have his diamond-studded braces removed [probably a good thing before going into custody] and yet again because of a flood at the Manhattan courthouse.) This plea-bargain was not rash. He presumably had good attorneys and the case was fought for several years. Lil’ Wayne was originally arrested on this charge back in 2007. What is surprising is the severity of the sentence. As an Orange County criminal law attorney or criminal defense lawyer, I have represented numerous defendants charged with possession of a deadly weapon and many of those weapons have been loaded guns. Never have I had a client sentenced to such a lengthy jail term, however.

While it is possible that authorities are intent on making an example of him, it may also be the case that something warranted such a large sentense: Lil’ Wayne’s background or RAP sheet. Prior convictions will ALWAYS increase the penalties for future trangressions. I don’t know if Lil’ Wayne had ever been convicted before, but the fact that he still faces felony weapon and drug charges in Arizona suggests that he is not new to run-ins with the law.

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