Helpful California Mom Clarified

In the story about the helpful California mom one fact was apparently omitted. The Polk County Sheriff's Department had a hold on the defendant the whole time he was in a Georgia prison. He was extradited back after serving his time in Georgia.
The mom in the case was very helpful, but I don't want to infer that anyone in the Sheriff's Department dropped the ball. They did not!

Florida polo tycoon convicted

Congratulations to NAPC's DUI prosecutor of the year, Ellen Roberts. She successfully prosecuted the multi-millionaire polo tycoon, for DUI manslaughter in Florida. Read about it at:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-03-23/news/sfl-polo-mogul-john-goodman-found-guilty-032312_1_lili-wilson-dui-manslaughter-trial-prosecutor-ellen-roberts

Louisiana man jumps off bridge to escape DUI 3rd

This genius might have become crabmeat, if he had not grabbed onto a utility building before hitting the water. He would have ended up in Lake Ponchartrain 60 feet below the bridge. He is lucky to be in jail facing his DUI 3rd offense and hit and run charges.
Read about it at:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/13/louisiana-man-reportedly-leaps-off-bridge-in-failed-attempt-to-avoid-dwi-arrest/

Calfornia mom finds Tennessee vehicular homicide suspect in a Georgia Prison

Due to the efforts of a California mom, whose daughter was killed in a 2005 crash, the suspect has been extradited from Georgia and will be arraigned in Polk County, Tennessee for a vehicular homicide by intoxication charge.
Read about how this happened at:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/25/ventura-woman-plays-role-in-reviving-fatal-dui/

Watching and Worrying

The first few months of 2012 have been deadly on Tennessee roads. Our traffic fatalities have increased. We lost 171 people last year by today's date. This year 187 have died. Things are looking better in March.
Counties with the largest increases are: Obion 6, Sullivan 6, Rutherford 5, Anderson 4, Bradley and Montgomery 3 each.

I suspect the unseasonably warm weather these three months may have contributed. There were no days in which people were snowed in, iced in or inspired to stay off the roads. Whatever the reason for these numbers, it is time to be vigilant, wear a seatbelt and drive defensively. There are a lot of dangerous drivers out there!

Military Deserter wanted for murder arrested after speeding

Note to criminals on the run: if you are trying to outrun a Texas murder charge and trying to outrun the United States Army for desertion, you might want to drive the speed limit.

This note is a little late for a Floridian driving in Bradley County. Trooper Gibson pulled him over, ran his information and discovered this guy was wanted. Thank goodness criminals like this ignore our speed limits. Read about it at:

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/mar/21/tennessee-highway-patrol-troopers-arrest-man-murde/

Wyoming lowers the boom on felony DUI

Congratulations to the State of Wyoming. The Legislature there recently increased the maximum penalty for felony DUI from 2 to 7 years. The bill was sponsored by a member of the Legislature, who is also an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Patrick Krone. Read all about it in the Powell Tribune here:
http://www.powelltribune.com/news/item/9437-tougher-dui-law-approved

Zolpidem (Ambien) DUI Story

There is an interesting story with a hard life lesson in the Knoxville News. A school bus driver was arrested and later convicted of driving under the influence. The kids on her bus were in grave danger and her life turned into a nightmare. It turns out that she took the wrong medication in the morning. She tells us that her thyroid pill looks a lot like her sleeping pill and she went to work after taking the sleeping pill. The sleeping pill did it's job and she was going to sleep while driving the school bus.
I salute this lady for having the decency to tell her story to alert people that we are all responsible for what we put in our bodies. She acknowledged as much with her guilty plea, but more than that she now wants to alert others to keep them from making the same mistake. We can all be grateful that no children were injured due to the intervention of the police in this case. We can also be grateful that Mrs. Lynn McGlothlin is telling her story.
Read about it at:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/18/a-hard-lesson-taking-wrong-pill-cost-school-bus/

St. Paddy's DUI arrests increased

WKRN reports that the DUI arrests were up this year compared to last in Nashville. There was a lot of publicity about the increased patrols and the increased liklihood that a drinking driver would be arrested prior to the weekend. I suspect that most drinking drivers have gotten away with the crime so often that they don't believe the publicity. Some years ago offenders in jail were polled and responded that on average they offended the DUI law 80 times before they were ever caught.
Read about the 24 arrests at:
http://www.wkrn.com/story/17186560/24-charged-with-dui-over-st-patricks-day-weekend

18 months for DUI 5th in Carter County

Trooper Greg Marlowe found this guy in October 2011 driving under the influence. Macky Lee Padgett, 48, pled guilty and received an 18 month sentence from Judge Bob Cupp in the Criminal Court of Carter County.

Read about this one in the Elizabethton Star at:

Man gets 18 months in jail for fifth DUI - Elizabethton Star

Reckless Homicide plea in Clarksville

Michelle LaLonde, 44, has acknowledged that she caused the death of her passenger, Thomas Hennessey, 31, in a drunk driving crash that occurred in October of 2009. LaLonde recieved a sentence of 4 years of probation for reckless homicide.
According the the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle, LaLonde also pled guilty to DUI and will be sentenced for that crime in April.
Read about this tragedy at:
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20120314/NEWS/303140054/Woman-pleads-guilty-reckless-homicide-DUI-case?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

DUI Homicide Trial underway in Florida and on Today

The Today show featured a story today about a Florida multimillionaire who killed and left the scene of his homicide. The defendant is best known for having adopted his 42 year old girlfried to try and protect his financial interests. In the case the NAPC DUI Prosecutor of the Year, Ellen Roberts, has given her opening statement as has defense attorney, Roy Black. Black claims the Bentley malfunctioned causing the crash. Black claims the defendant forgot the phone number 9-1-1 and Black claims the defendant did not leave the scene of a fatality, because it was dark and he did not know that the victim had been shoved into a canal, where he drowned.

Watch the Today show story at:
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46730550

Trooper Russell is in critical condition

Sgt. Lowell Russell was doing his job on I-40 in Knox County last night. He was in his patrol car on the shoulder of the road when a semi crashed into his car. He was rescued by a passing ambulance crew and a Knoxville officer. He is in critical condition at U.T. Medical Center. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Read about the tragic crash and heoric rescue at:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/13/semi-hits-thp-cruiser-which-bursts-flames-shuts-i/

4 wheeling and DUI...ing

A Bartlett driver was arrested for DUI this weekend while driving down Old Brownsville Road on his 4 wheeler. That might sould like a 4 wheeler in the boonies, but it was on a major road in a Memphis suburb! That sounds like a dumb move. Maybe it was one of those intoxicated ideas that seemed like a good one at the time! The defendant is presumed innocent. Read about it and see his mug shot at:

http://bartlett.wmctv.com/news/news/70941-atv-driver-arrested-dui

Vehicular Homicide Hearing includes testimony of drugs

A bond reduction hearing in Claiborne County resulted in a reduction fro $250,000 to $150,000 for David Crumley, who is accused of killing Roanld and Wilma McNew of Speedwell in November 2011. Testimony from TBI scientist, Michael Tiller, indicated the presence of xanax, oxycodone and an over the counter sleeping aid in the Crumley blood sample. Crumley is accused of running head on into the McNew vehicle.
Read about the hearing at:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/09/testimony-virginia-man-charged-in-fatal-crash-in/

Prosecutors DUI Trial Manual Update

The trial manual has been updated to include 40 pages of cases through February 29, 2012. It is available in the members only section of our website in the Trial Manual folder. Please download it, print it and use it to replace the case law section of your trial manual.

Go Cart Driver convicted of Vehicular Homicide by Recklessness

The jury has returned it's verdict. The go cart driver has been convicted of vehicular homicide by recklessness, aggravated assault and simple assault. Sentencing will occur in April.

Read about it at:

The Paris Post-Intelligencer > Archives > News > Local News > Henry County , Tenn. jury returns guilty verdict in go-cart trial

It seemed like a good idea at the time

An intoxicated man in Australia decided he could hide his blood alcohol level by drinking sunscreen. I think that causes a defendant a problem. Who would drink sunscreen if they were sober? Alcohol does effect the brain!

Read about this guy at:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/drunk-driver-swallows-sunscreen-in-attempt-to-alter-breath-test/story-e6freoof-1226285732178

Go Cart Homicide Trial underway in Paris

The Paris Post Intelligencer includes an article about the opening statements in the case of the go cart driver facing a vehicular homicide by recklessness charge in Henry County. It appears from the newspaper account that the driver of the go cart had a 5 year old child on his lap at night without a seatbelt or a helmet and with intoxicants in his system. It appears from the paper that he then had something akin to a head on crash with another go cart and the child was killed. I will keep watching this one and post further information as it develops.
Read the story at:
http://www.parispi.net/articles/2012/03/01/news/local_news/doc4f4fb4521678b443946711.txt