Civil suit filed against synthetic cannabinoid manufacturer

A LaPorte,Texas based company DZE is now facing a very large lawsuit for it's manufacture of a synthetic cannabinoid called DOWN2EARTH. The person who consumed the product got high and drove into a Florida family. The driver, Christopher Generoso, is serving 22 years in prison.
The company recieved a trademark for the drug in 2011, claiming it to be a potpouri.
Read more about the case at: http://www.wctv.tv/news/floridanews/headlines/Families-File-Civil-Suit-in-Deadly-St-Patricks-Day-Crash-243595291.html

No amount of money will change the damage done by Generoso on St Patrick's Day in 2012, but perhaps it will have a chilling effect on the money grubbing evildoers who put this stuff out there.

Super Bowl Weekend Sobriety Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols in Montgomery County

The Tennessee Highway Patrol, Clarksville Police Department, and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office conducted checkpoints and impaired driving saturation patrols January 31st, February 1st, and February 2nd, 2014, partially funded by the Governor’s Highway Safety Office.
Also, the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission was involved in the DUI Blitz Operation in Montgomery County.

The results were pretty astounding including 15 DUI arrests and over 400 total infractions. Read about the results at:

http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2014/02/05/clarksville-police-tennessee-highway-patrol-montgomery-county-sheriffs-office-checkpointssaturation-patrols-dui-blitz-operation-statistics-2014-super-bowl-weekend/

House Judiciary Subcommittee Tuesday

Tuesday, The House Criminal Judiciary Subcommittee will be the first to consider the bill designed to increase treatment opportunities for 2nd and 3rd offenders. 
Those who are referred into treatment after a drug/alcohol evaluation will be able to reduce some of their jail time, if they successfully complete the treatment regimen. This is a big deal in the attempt to reduce recidivism in Tennessee. Whenever a 7th offender gets arrested for maiming or killing a family member, the victim family wants to know what the criminal was doing out of jail and in a car. This bill is an attempt to get to those people and punish them for their crime, but then get them to a place where they will not commit the crime again. It takes a lot to stop a multiple offender, this bill adds to the possible weapons to fix the recidivism problem.

1. *HB1429 by *McCormick, *Lamberth, *Brooks K, *Watson, *Shipley, *Akbari, *Faison, *Hardaway. (SB1633 by *Norris, *Overbey.)
Sentencing - As introduced, permits judge, as a condition of probation, to order a 2nd or 3rd time DUI offender to participate in an inpatient or intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment program following a clinical substance abuse assessment and awards sentence reduction credits for treatment days. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 35, Part 3 and Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 4.
Summary for *HB1429

Newsletter Available

Issue 45 of the DUI News is now available at the link above the index.
Included is a four page article from Colorado TSRP, Chris Halsor concerning DUI issues raised by the legalization of marijuana.


http://dui.tndagc.org/news.php#72

MONITORING DUI OFFENDERS ARTICLE IN CHATTONOOGA

Thanks Todd South for an outstanding article. Good luck to Robert Livingston and all those attempting to beat alcohol and regain their lives!
Read about it at:

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2014/jan/13/stay-sober-or-elseone-drink-and-sophisticated-new/?print

State Officials Announce 2013 Tennessee Traffic Fatality Figures

 

Thursday, January 02, 2014 | 03:30 pm

NASHVILLE--- The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security today announced preliminary figures indicating the state has recorded 988 traffic fatalities in 2013. That’s a 2.7 percent decrease in vehicular deaths on Tennessee roadways last year compared to 2012, when there were 1,015 traffic fatalities. The 2013 traffic fatality numbers include vehicular deaths reported by all Tennessee law enforcement agencies.

Last year’s preliminary number of 988 traffic-related deaths in Tennessee represents just the fourth time in 50 years vehicular fatalities have dropped below 1,000. In 2011, there were 937 traffic-related deaths on Tennessee roadways, representing the lowest figure since 1963.

“The decline in the number of traffic fatalities in 2013 indicates that Tennessee is moving in the right direction. Our focus on data driven deployment of state troopers to have the maximum impact on DUI and seat belt enforcement is paying off. We have much more work to do, though,” Commissioner Bill Gibbons said.

Impaired driving fatalities fell 26.7 percent from 2010 to 2013 in Tennessee. In 2013, preliminary statistics indicate 211 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes across the state (24.1 percent of the total). Tennessee state troopers increased their number of DUI arrests in 2013 to 6,428, a 90.4 percent increase over 2010.

Additionally, Tennessee state troopers issued 74,277 seat belt and child restraint device citations in 2013, a 135.1 percent increase from the 31,599 citations issued in 2010. In Tennessee, unrestrained motorists accounted for 48.9 percent (364) of vehicle occupants killed in 2013.

Other contributing factors in fatal crashes included speed and distracted driving, with 184 and 167 deaths, respectively.

Of concern is the fact that pedestrian fatalities have increased by 25 percent over the past year from 68 in 2012 to 85 in 2013.

“In 2014, we will employ a predictive analytics model (C.R.A.S.H.) to look even more closely at where traffic crashes are most likely to occur and deploy our resources, both in educational efforts and enforcement. We hope that this new tool will help reduce serious injury and fatal crashes across the state,” Colonel Tracy Trott said.

Preliminary statistics indicate one person has died on Tennessee roadways in 2014, compared to eight at this time last year.

Happy New DUI

There were 16 persons arrested in Nashville for DUI on New Years Day after midnight. They started their year in a difficult way. Each is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. They 16 were:

Evan Bass; Mari Seay; Mickey Sloan; Bryan  Phillips; Malcolm Sheffield; Dustin Smith; Maya Tollivar; Jason Dennis; Veronica Schlusser; Aritamel Morelos; Tammi Darnell; Lashndra Fuller; Leroy Sanchez-Castellano; Peter Ambrosetti; Robin Wheat and Huntley Bennington.

There were 7 persons arrested for DUI in Chattanooga. They were:

Aditya V. Chaudhari; Stanley Lee Daniel; James Morgan Davis; Steve Allen Edge; Terri Kasha Quarles; Janice Marie Rocha; David Alan Wilson.

Both cities offered free ride programs to people who over-indulged.