SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Police arrested fewer people in the first 10 days of a crackdown on Sacramento-area drunken drivers compared to a similar period last year.
From midnight Dec. 18 through midnight Sunday, officers representing 15 Sacramento County law enforcement agencies reported provisional arrests of at least 264 people for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a dip from 330 DUI arrests during the first 10 days of last year's winter crackdown on impaired drivers.
During the same time in Placer County, officers representing seven agencies reported arrests of at least 35 people on suspicion of DUI, down from 77 such arrests last year.
No deaths were attributed to a drunken driver in either county during this time.
Law enforcement officials will be conducting more anti-DUI efforts through out the region in the coming days.
Also, the California Highway Patrol will have increased staffing during the New Year's weekend
Source
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
DUI murder suspect to stand trial in March
A Sacramento woman accused of driving drunk last year and fatally rear-ending a motorcyclist near Elk Grove Park has pled not guilty in Sacramento County Superior Court and will stand trial in March.
Suspect Rebecca Vela, 33, was arraigned Dec. 31 at the Sacramento County Main Jail, following a Dec. 18 preliminary hearing that found there was enough evidence against her to warrant a trial.
Vela pled not guilty to the three charges against her: murder, felonious DUI and felonious hit-and-run. She also denied charges related to four prior DUI convictions mentioned in a district attorney complaint amended at the Dec. 18 preliminary hearing.
A trial readiness conference will be held March 19, and Vela will stand trial March 25.
The charges stem from an April 28, 2009 accident in which prosecutors say Vela drove drunk on East Stockton Boulevard and rear-ended 54-year-old Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputy District Attorney Leland Washington declined to comment after the Dec. 31 arraignment.
Vela’s attorney, Russell Miller, said he didn’t have any new information.
“We’re marching ahead,” Miller said after the arraignment.
Vela is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department records.
Source
Suspect Rebecca Vela, 33, was arraigned Dec. 31 at the Sacramento County Main Jail, following a Dec. 18 preliminary hearing that found there was enough evidence against her to warrant a trial.
Vela pled not guilty to the three charges against her: murder, felonious DUI and felonious hit-and-run. She also denied charges related to four prior DUI convictions mentioned in a district attorney complaint amended at the Dec. 18 preliminary hearing.
A trial readiness conference will be held March 19, and Vela will stand trial March 25.
The charges stem from an April 28, 2009 accident in which prosecutors say Vela drove drunk on East Stockton Boulevard and rear-ended 54-year-old Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputy District Attorney Leland Washington declined to comment after the Dec. 31 arraignment.
Vela’s attorney, Russell Miller, said he didn’t have any new information.
“We’re marching ahead,” Miller said after the arraignment.
Vela is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department records.
Source
Monday, February 15, 2010
Hundreds Arrested In DUI Campaign
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Hundreds of people have been arrested in Sacramento County over the holidays on suspicion of driving under the influence.
According to new information from the AVOID the Capital 15 Campaign, between midnight Dec. 18 through midnight Jan. 2 DUI checkpoints netted 376 arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. No DUI fatal collisions were reported.
Last year, there were 435 DUI arrests.
Law enforcement officials will be conducting more anti-DUI efforts through out the county and region. Additionally, all CHP areas throughout the state will have increased staffing during the New Years weekend.
Source
According to new information from the AVOID the Capital 15 Campaign, between midnight Dec. 18 through midnight Jan. 2 DUI checkpoints netted 376 arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. No DUI fatal collisions were reported.
Last year, there were 435 DUI arrests.
Law enforcement officials will be conducting more anti-DUI efforts through out the county and region. Additionally, all CHP areas throughout the state will have increased staffing during the New Years weekend.
Source
Thursday, January 28, 2010
DUI Arrests Down 25 Percent Over Holiday in Sacramento County
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA - Sacramento County's Avoid the Capital 15 Campaign to get impaired drivers off the road over the holidays netted a preliminary 395 arrests for driving under the influence, according to a police spokesman for the task force.
There was also one suspected DUI-related death in Walnut Grove on Jan. 2, according to Sgt. Brian Winsor with the Elk Grove Police Department.
The crackdown began Dec. 18, at 12:01 a.m. and continued through Jan 3, midnight. Officers with law enforcement agencies throughout the county conducted a number of sobriety checkpoints and special saturation patrols during the campaign as well as routine patrols in Sacramento County.
Winsor said there were 526 DUI arrests over the same holiday period in 2008.
Source
There was also one suspected DUI-related death in Walnut Grove on Jan. 2, according to Sgt. Brian Winsor with the Elk Grove Police Department.
The crackdown began Dec. 18, at 12:01 a.m. and continued through Jan 3, midnight. Officers with law enforcement agencies throughout the county conducted a number of sobriety checkpoints and special saturation patrols during the campaign as well as routine patrols in Sacramento County.
Winsor said there were 526 DUI arrests over the same holiday period in 2008.
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
California Highway Patrol arrests Sacramento Officer for DUI
Sacramento, CA - Nearly every week we report about police officers who receive DUI citations or arrests. We do so for several reasons.
First, it shows that police are human beings too and are susceptible to, and regularly break the same laws that the ordinary, non-criminal citizen does. Second, it is actually a positive thing in our view when police officers arrest one of their own. It indicates that they are applying the law evenly and fairly. Many skeptics believe that most police officers stopped for DUI are let off without an arrest as a professional curtsey. We report cases like this to illustrate that this isn't the case.
This most recent report comes out of Sacramento, where the California Highway Patrol arrested Sacramento Police Officer Keith Hughes for drunk driving. The arrest came after witnesses reported his car along a high traffic portion of Hazel Avenue in Sacramento. The vehicle was in drive, and Officer Hughes was asleep behind the wheel.
The fire department responded because of the threat of a medical emergency, but when the fire personnel observed him, they suspected that his unconsciousness was caused by alcohol intoxication. That is when they called the police.
Under California DUI law, a person doesn't have to be driving to be arrested for DUI. A law called "actual physical control" allows police to arrest a suspected drunk driver if they are behind the wheel, even when passed out.
"When an agency other than the police is first on the scene and calls the police, there is a higher probability that the police will arrest one of their own," said Oregon DUII lawyer, Bart Herron.
"Any time you are dealing with more than one agency, whether its two police departments, or police and fire, it just increases the likelihood that everybody involved will do the right thing added Florida criminal defense lawyer John Musca. "Multiple reports from multiple agencies tend to act as a balancing factor."
The Sacramento Police Department will conduct their own investigation of Officer Hughes and determine the appropriate sanction separate from the criminal DUI case that he will now face. If convicted, or if he loses his license to the California, it will make it difficult to carry out his duties as a police officer. But like everybody who gets a DUI when nobody gets hurt, there is a strong argument that Officer Hughes deserves the benefit of the doubt and a second chance. For now, he will be treated like any other California DUI defendant, and will have to go through the justice system in Sacramento County.
Source
First, it shows that police are human beings too and are susceptible to, and regularly break the same laws that the ordinary, non-criminal citizen does. Second, it is actually a positive thing in our view when police officers arrest one of their own. It indicates that they are applying the law evenly and fairly. Many skeptics believe that most police officers stopped for DUI are let off without an arrest as a professional curtsey. We report cases like this to illustrate that this isn't the case.
This most recent report comes out of Sacramento, where the California Highway Patrol arrested Sacramento Police Officer Keith Hughes for drunk driving. The arrest came after witnesses reported his car along a high traffic portion of Hazel Avenue in Sacramento. The vehicle was in drive, and Officer Hughes was asleep behind the wheel.
The fire department responded because of the threat of a medical emergency, but when the fire personnel observed him, they suspected that his unconsciousness was caused by alcohol intoxication. That is when they called the police.
Under California DUI law, a person doesn't have to be driving to be arrested for DUI. A law called "actual physical control" allows police to arrest a suspected drunk driver if they are behind the wheel, even when passed out.
"When an agency other than the police is first on the scene and calls the police, there is a higher probability that the police will arrest one of their own," said Oregon DUII lawyer, Bart Herron.
"Any time you are dealing with more than one agency, whether its two police departments, or police and fire, it just increases the likelihood that everybody involved will do the right thing added Florida criminal defense lawyer John Musca. "Multiple reports from multiple agencies tend to act as a balancing factor."
The Sacramento Police Department will conduct their own investigation of Officer Hughes and determine the appropriate sanction separate from the criminal DUI case that he will now face. If convicted, or if he loses his license to the California, it will make it difficult to carry out his duties as a police officer. But like everybody who gets a DUI when nobody gets hurt, there is a strong argument that Officer Hughes deserves the benefit of the doubt and a second chance. For now, he will be treated like any other California DUI defendant, and will have to go through the justice system in Sacramento County.
Source
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sacramento Cop Accused Of DUI
A Sacramento police officer has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.
Officer Christopher Hughes, 39, was booked over the weekend, CHP Officer Lizz Dutton said.
Dutton said the case was reported as a medical emergency Saturday afternoon at Hazel Avenue and Piedra Way.
Hughes' vehicle was spotted in a lane of the road and he slumped over the steering wheel, Dutton said.
When CHP officers responded, they found Hughes was found to be intoxicated, the CHP said.
Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong confirmed the arrest and said the department is conducting an administrative investigation.
Source
Officer Christopher Hughes, 39, was booked over the weekend, CHP Officer Lizz Dutton said.
Dutton said the case was reported as a medical emergency Saturday afternoon at Hazel Avenue and Piedra Way.
Hughes' vehicle was spotted in a lane of the road and he slumped over the steering wheel, Dutton said.
When CHP officers responded, they found Hughes was found to be intoxicated, the CHP said.
Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong confirmed the arrest and said the department is conducting an administrative investigation.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sacramento Cop Arrested for DUI
SACRAMENTO - CHP arrested Sacramento Sacramento Police Officer Chris Hughes, who goes by "Keith," and booked him in the Sacramento County jail for DUI.
"There are over 1,100 men and women in this department and we're all human. However we do expect our officers to hold themselves to a higher standard," Sgt. Konrad Von Schoech said.
A higher standard, even when off-duty.
CHP said witnesses spotted the officer in his car along a busy stretch of traffic on Hazel Avenue near Madison late Saturday afternoon. He was asleep at the wheel and his car was in drive.
The fire department responded for what they thought may be a medical emergency. But when firefighters got there, they suspected Hughes was drunk and called police.
On Monday, we tried to talk with Officer Hughes. No one answered at the front door.
"What I can tell you is that a thorough and concise administrative investigation will be conducted by the Sacramento Police Department. And at the conclusion of that investigation, appropriate action will be taken," Von Schoech said.
For now, Officer Hughes has been pulled from patrol.
Source
"There are over 1,100 men and women in this department and we're all human. However we do expect our officers to hold themselves to a higher standard," Sgt. Konrad Von Schoech said.
A higher standard, even when off-duty.
CHP said witnesses spotted the officer in his car along a busy stretch of traffic on Hazel Avenue near Madison late Saturday afternoon. He was asleep at the wheel and his car was in drive.
The fire department responded for what they thought may be a medical emergency. But when firefighters got there, they suspected Hughes was drunk and called police.
On Monday, we tried to talk with Officer Hughes. No one answered at the front door.
"What I can tell you is that a thorough and concise administrative investigation will be conducted by the Sacramento Police Department. And at the conclusion of that investigation, appropriate action will be taken," Von Schoech said.
For now, Officer Hughes has been pulled from patrol.
Source
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