According to the Associated Press police dispatcher Todd Sparrow said officers in Lawrenceburg, about 20 miles west of Lexington, arrested Gillispie and took him to jail in neighboring Franklin County.
Gillispie’s lawyer, Darran Winslow of Louisville, says Gillispie was released on his own recognizance Thursday morning, but declined further comment.
Police told the Lexington television station WLEX-TV that Gillispie was pulled over in a white Mercedes with Texas tags around 2:45 a.m. Thursday after someone reported seeing the car driving erratically.
Gillispie’s passenger was also arrested for intoxication. According to WLEX-TV Gillispie told police that he and his passenger had been golfing.
Gillispie was replaced by Memphis coach John Calipari this year after a rocky two-year tenure in which the Wildcats went 40-27.
“A DUI is a life changing event for anyone who receives one, and can be devastating after a third one” said Los Angeles DUI attorney Jon Artz. “Especially for a public figure like Mr. Gillispie, DUIs can be particularly troubling as the details of sentencing and punishment are usually widely publicized.”
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
California DUI Lawyer Confirms Nationwide DUI Crackdown
Los Angeles DUI lawyer Lawrence Taylor, known as the "Dean of DUI Attorneys", confirms initial results of the ongoing 18-day nationwide crackdown on drunk driving in California.
Backed by $17 million in federal funds, the highly publicized "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" program started last Friday and will continue through the Labor Day weekend. Increased DUI roadblocks and patrols throughout California are being employed, with much of the federal funding being used to pay for police overtime pay.
Taylor, author of the legal textbooks Drunk Driving Defense and California Drunk Driving Defense and head of a law firm of eight California DUI defense attorneys, reports sharply higher numbers of clients seeking help for DUI arrests. With offices across California, Taylor's DUI lawyers report substantial increases in San Diego DUI and Orange County DUI arrests, with slightly lower increases in the number of clients facing Los Angeles DUI and San Francisco DUI charges.
The noted DUI lawyer recommends that drivers be particularly vigilant, avoiding even the after-work cocktail during this period. "Although only one or two drinks are highly unlikely to cause impairment," Taylor says, "the mere presence of alcohol on the breath can lead to suspicion of drunk driving, a very possibly inaccurate DUI breath test -- and a DUI arrest."
Source
Backed by $17 million in federal funds, the highly publicized "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" program started last Friday and will continue through the Labor Day weekend. Increased DUI roadblocks and patrols throughout California are being employed, with much of the federal funding being used to pay for police overtime pay.
Taylor, author of the legal textbooks Drunk Driving Defense and California Drunk Driving Defense and head of a law firm of eight California DUI defense attorneys, reports sharply higher numbers of clients seeking help for DUI arrests. With offices across California, Taylor's DUI lawyers report substantial increases in San Diego DUI and Orange County DUI arrests, with slightly lower increases in the number of clients facing Los Angeles DUI and San Francisco DUI charges.
The noted DUI lawyer recommends that drivers be particularly vigilant, avoiding even the after-work cocktail during this period. "Although only one or two drinks are highly unlikely to cause impairment," Taylor says, "the mere presence of alcohol on the breath can lead to suspicion of drunk driving, a very possibly inaccurate DUI breath test -- and a DUI arrest."
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Dodger reliever Belisario pleads not guilty to DUI
PASADENA, Calif. — Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Ronald Belisario pleaded not guilty Thursday to misdemeanour drunken driving.
Attorney J. Michael Flanagan entered the plea for Belisario at his arraignment and scheduled a pretrial hearing for October. The 26-year-old rookie right-hander was with the team in Colorado Thursday completing a three-game series with the Rockies and did not appear in court.
He was arrested in Pasadena early on June 27 after California Highway Patrol officers said they saw him talking on his cell phone while driving and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence.
A Breathalyzer test showed Belisario had a blood-alcohol level of .13, then took the test again with a result of .11, Flanagan said. The California limit is .08.
Belisario was released on US$5,000 bail.
"Things happen to everybody," Belisario said Thursday in Denver after the Dodgers' 3-2 win. "That doesn't affect me at all. I'm moving on."
Flanagan said after the arraignment that Belisario was only checking his phone for messages at a stop sign and that he was wrongly pulled over.
"Things happen to everybody. You know they stopped me for no reason," Belisario said Thursday in Denver after the Dodgers' 3-2 win. "That doesn't effect me at all. I'm moving on."
A phone message left with the Pasadena city attorney's office was not immediately returned.
Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch declined comment, saying it is team policy not to discuss pending legal matters.
Belisario, from Venezuela, spent 10 years in the minors before becoming one of the Dodgers' most frequently used and effective relievers this season. He is 2-3 with an earned-run average of 2.30 in 51 appearances this season.
Source
Attorney J. Michael Flanagan entered the plea for Belisario at his arraignment and scheduled a pretrial hearing for October. The 26-year-old rookie right-hander was with the team in Colorado Thursday completing a three-game series with the Rockies and did not appear in court.
He was arrested in Pasadena early on June 27 after California Highway Patrol officers said they saw him talking on his cell phone while driving and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence.
A Breathalyzer test showed Belisario had a blood-alcohol level of .13, then took the test again with a result of .11, Flanagan said. The California limit is .08.
Belisario was released on US$5,000 bail.
"Things happen to everybody," Belisario said Thursday in Denver after the Dodgers' 3-2 win. "That doesn't affect me at all. I'm moving on."
Flanagan said after the arraignment that Belisario was only checking his phone for messages at a stop sign and that he was wrongly pulled over.
"Things happen to everybody. You know they stopped me for no reason," Belisario said Thursday in Denver after the Dodgers' 3-2 win. "That doesn't effect me at all. I'm moving on."
A phone message left with the Pasadena city attorney's office was not immediately returned.
Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch declined comment, saying it is team policy not to discuss pending legal matters.
Belisario, from Venezuela, spent 10 years in the minors before becoming one of the Dodgers' most frequently used and effective relievers this season. He is 2-3 with an earned-run average of 2.30 in 51 appearances this season.
Source
Thursday, October 15, 2009
LA Dodger pleads not guilty to Cal DUI
Dodgers relief pitcher Ronald Belisario has entered a not guilty plea stemming from a June 27 misdemeanor DUI arrest. Belisario was not present at the arraignment. Attorney J. Michael Flanagan entered the plea on his behalf.
Belisario was arrested when California Highway Patrol officers saw him talking on his cell phone while driving. The act is illegal without a hands-free device statewide in California. Belisario submitted a breath test registering .13%. He submitted a second test registering .11%, according to his attorney.
He was booked then released on $5,000 bail. The defense will argue that Belisario was wrongfully pulled over. He claims he was only checking phone messages at the time of the traffic stop.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a policy, according to spokespeople, of not issuing comments until the legal matter has been fully resolved. There will be a pre-trial hearing in October, and perhaps the Dodgers will respond at that point.
Belisario came to the U.S. from Venezuela on a contract with the Florida Marlins and played almost years in the minor league. He has become a favorite relief pitcher for the LA team. This year, he has an impressive record of 2.30 ERA in his 51 games. This is technically the pitcher's rookie year.
Source
Belisario was arrested when California Highway Patrol officers saw him talking on his cell phone while driving. The act is illegal without a hands-free device statewide in California. Belisario submitted a breath test registering .13%. He submitted a second test registering .11%, according to his attorney.
He was booked then released on $5,000 bail. The defense will argue that Belisario was wrongfully pulled over. He claims he was only checking phone messages at the time of the traffic stop.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a policy, according to spokespeople, of not issuing comments until the legal matter has been fully resolved. There will be a pre-trial hearing in October, and perhaps the Dodgers will respond at that point.
Belisario came to the U.S. from Venezuela on a contract with the Florida Marlins and played almost years in the minor league. He has become a favorite relief pitcher for the LA team. This year, he has an impressive record of 2.30 ERA in his 51 games. This is technically the pitcher's rookie year.
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
Lori Petty gets probation in DUI case
LOS ANGELES — Lori Petty will serve five years probation after pleading no contest on Friday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge.
The actress issued a statement apologizing and vowed that it will be her last arrest on the charge.
City Attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan said Petty entered the plea through her attorney and has already completed some of the terms of her sentence, which include alcohol abuse counseling.
Petty was arrested May 30 after a skateboarder was hit with a car in the Venice Beach area, authorities said.
"I sincerely apologize for driving after drinking alcohol," Petty said in a written statement.
She urged people not to drive after drinking and to take keys from friends if they appear to be under the influence.
"I assure you, this first misdemeanor DUI will be my last," her statement read.
Petty's film credits include "Point Break," "Tank Girl" and "A League of Their Own." The 45-year-old actress was not required to appear in court
Source
The actress issued a statement apologizing and vowed that it will be her last arrest on the charge.
City Attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan said Petty entered the plea through her attorney and has already completed some of the terms of her sentence, which include alcohol abuse counseling.
Petty was arrested May 30 after a skateboarder was hit with a car in the Venice Beach area, authorities said.
"I sincerely apologize for driving after drinking alcohol," Petty said in a written statement.
She urged people not to drive after drinking and to take keys from friends if they appear to be under the influence.
"I assure you, this first misdemeanor DUI will be my last," her statement read.
Petty's film credits include "Point Break," "Tank Girl" and "A League of Their Own." The 45-year-old actress was not required to appear in court
Source
Monday, August 10, 2009
Adenhart death should spur DUI crackdown
GRAND jury transcripts in the drunken-driving trial of Andrew Gallo, 22, the man charged with three counts of murder in the death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and Diamond Bar resident Courtney Frances Stewart, reveal a debauched tale. As first reported by this newspaper, Gallo and his stepbrother, Andrew Rivera, bar-hopped across West Covina and Covina. The grand jury says the two were drinking so heavily - tequila shots, beers, sake - that they didn't know where they were or where they were headed when they jumped in Gallo's minivan around 10:30 p.m. the night of April 8 with Gallo behind the wheel.
The court transcripts tell a disturbing story of overdrinking to the point that Rivera told Gallo outside a strip mall in Covina to drive because he knew he would be "blanking out." The transcripts and news reports say the two had been drinking heavily at two saloons in Covina just a few doors apart in a redeveloped strip mall off San Bernardino Road across from the Home Depot. They were the last places the pair were seen drinking before the crash that killed the Angels rookie April 9.
Gallo, the former Northview High School student, somehow drove to Fullerton shortly after Adenhart pitched his first game of the year at Angel Stadium and was headed to a dance club with Stewart to celebrate. Gallo was apprehended a mile away from the Fullerton intersection in which his car collided with Stewart's, killing the driver, two passengers and severely injuring another passenger, former Cal State Fullerton baseball player Jon Wilhite, who is miraculously recovering from what doctors call internal decapitation. Gallo, according to ESPN.com, told police "I (screwed) up." Rivera, the transcripts say, sat in a fetal position outside the smashed minivan and repeated over and over: "We killed those people. We killed those people." Court transcripts said the two men were so inebriated that when they left Covina, they thought they were heading to San Gabriel. They couldn't account for more than 90 minutes after they left Covina until the crash in Fullerton.
California law says bartenders are not to serve anyone who is intoxicated. So clearly a key question in this tragedy that apparently began in the San Gabriel Valley is, should bartenders at the bars where this pair was drinking have stopped serving the pair? Would one less drink have stopped the two from blanking out?
Transcripts quote a bartender who said Gallo was drinking at both bars, including one in Covina where waitresses serve oversized beers called "Boombahs" and wear bikinis. The witnesses put them at the bars around 10:30 p.m. and Rivera told the court that's when they left and when he passed out in the minivan.
The Orange County District Attorney said Gallo's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit when arrested. It was revealed later that Stewart, the driver of the MitsubishiEclipse , had also been drinking and had an alcohol level of 0.06, according to toxicology tests performed by the coroner. It is not clear what effect that will have on the case. Police say Gallo ran the red light at Orangethorpe and Lemon going 66 miles per hour and struck Stewart's vehicle.
Covina police make routine patrols at all the bars in town, but told our editorial board it is tough to do more than regular "bar checks" with current staffing levels. The city does participate in a special DUI enforcement program headed up by the Glendora Police Department. It had tried for a state Alcoholic Beverage Control grant, but didn't get it.
The big question is: Can't more be done to apprehend drivers leaving Covina bars or any other San Gabriel Valley bar so drunk that they don't know the difference in direction between Fullerton and San Gabriel? Can Covina PD step up patrols around these two bars separated by only a few doors in the same strip mall, which together may form a place where people go to get seriously drunk and later end up driving drunk? Do the two bars being so close together make for an unsafe pairing, a situation the City Council could consider examining under the Conditional Use Permit process? Shouldn't all cities re-examine a similar situation where bars are clustered together?
There also is a broader solution to an endemic problem. Recent reports say that many states, including New Mexico, require those convicted of a single driving while intoxicated offense to install an "interlocking" device on their cars that prevents operation if the driver has been drinking. The driver is required to breathe into a tube in order to engage the ignition. If the driver has been drinking at all, the car will not operate. The program has been credited with reducing the number of DUI deaths in New Mexico from 2004 to 2008 by 35 percent, from 219 to 143, according to a published report.
In Southern California, where driving is often part of nearly every activity, why hasn't this mandatory program been implemented, instead of only in the case of multiple DUI convictions and at a judge's discretion? Here's a tested program other states are using to cut down on drunken driving deaths and it's not being done regularly - beyond a planned test program somewhere down the line - here in the car capital of the world. It used to be California was ahead of the curve. On this issue, it is behind.
Andrew Gallo had been convicted of DUI in San Bernardino County in 2006. On April 8-9, 2009, he was driving his car on a suspended driver's license. If only an interlock installed on his car after his conviction in San Bernardino had prevented it from starting that April night in Covina ... we'd be writing a different story today.
Source
The court transcripts tell a disturbing story of overdrinking to the point that Rivera told Gallo outside a strip mall in Covina to drive because he knew he would be "blanking out." The transcripts and news reports say the two had been drinking heavily at two saloons in Covina just a few doors apart in a redeveloped strip mall off San Bernardino Road across from the Home Depot. They were the last places the pair were seen drinking before the crash that killed the Angels rookie April 9.
Gallo, the former Northview High School student, somehow drove to Fullerton shortly after Adenhart pitched his first game of the year at Angel Stadium and was headed to a dance club with Stewart to celebrate. Gallo was apprehended a mile away from the Fullerton intersection in which his car collided with Stewart's, killing the driver, two passengers and severely injuring another passenger, former Cal State Fullerton baseball player Jon Wilhite, who is miraculously recovering from what doctors call internal decapitation. Gallo, according to ESPN.com, told police "I (screwed) up." Rivera, the transcripts say, sat in a fetal position outside the smashed minivan and repeated over and over: "We killed those people. We killed those people." Court transcripts said the two men were so inebriated that when they left Covina, they thought they were heading to San Gabriel. They couldn't account for more than 90 minutes after they left Covina until the crash in Fullerton.
California law says bartenders are not to serve anyone who is intoxicated. So clearly a key question in this tragedy that apparently began in the San Gabriel Valley is, should bartenders at the bars where this pair was drinking have stopped serving the pair? Would one less drink have stopped the two from blanking out?
Transcripts quote a bartender who said Gallo was drinking at both bars, including one in Covina where waitresses serve oversized beers called "Boombahs" and wear bikinis. The witnesses put them at the bars around 10:30 p.m. and Rivera told the court that's when they left and when he passed out in the minivan.
The Orange County District Attorney said Gallo's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit when arrested. It was revealed later that Stewart, the driver of the Mitsubishi
Covina police make routine patrols at all the bars in town, but told our editorial board it is tough to do more than regular "bar checks" with current staffing levels. The city does participate in a special DUI enforcement program headed up by the Glendora Police Department. It had tried for a state Alcoholic Beverage Control grant, but didn't get it.
The big question is: Can't more be done to apprehend drivers leaving Covina bars or any other San Gabriel Valley bar so drunk that they don't know the difference in direction between Fullerton and San Gabriel? Can Covina PD step up patrols around these two bars separated by only a few doors in the same strip mall, which together may form a place where people go to get seriously drunk and later end up driving drunk? Do the two bars being so close together make for an unsafe pairing, a situation the City Council could consider examining under the Conditional Use Permit process? Shouldn't all cities re-examine a similar situation where bars are clustered together?
There also is a broader solution to an endemic problem. Recent reports say that many states, including New Mexico, require those convicted of a single driving while intoxicated offense to install an "interlocking" device on their cars that prevents operation if the driver has been drinking. The driver is required to breathe into a tube in order to engage the ignition. If the driver has been drinking at all, the car will not operate. The program has been credited with reducing the number of DUI deaths in New Mexico from 2004 to 2008 by 35 percent, from 219 to 143, according to a published report.
In Southern California, where driving is often part of nearly every activity, why hasn't this mandatory program been implemented, instead of only in the case of multiple DUI convictions and at a judge's discretion? Here's a tested program other states are using to cut down on drunken driving deaths and it's not being done regularly - beyond a planned test program somewhere down the line - here in the car capital of the world. It used to be California was ahead of the curve. On this issue, it is behind.
Andrew Gallo had been convicted of DUI in San Bernardino County in 2006. On April 8-9, 2009, he was driving his car on a suspended driver's license. If only an interlock installed on his car after his conviction in San Bernardino had prevented it from starting that April night in Covina ... we'd be writing a different story today.
Source
Monday, July 20, 2009
T.O. boy hurt in suspected DUI crash dies
An 11-year-old Thousand Oaks boy critically injured in a crash caused by a woman suspected of driving under the influence of prescription medication has died, the California Highway Patrol reported Wednesday.
Thomas Botello was riding in the back seat of a sport utility vehicle driven by his aunt, Page Germain, when the crash occurred about 1 p.m. July 4 at the intersection of Las Posas and Laguna roads near Camarillo.
Heading west on Laguna, Germain stopped at a stop sign at Las Posas Road and then continued into the intersection, where cross traffic does not have a stop sign. She failed to yield the right of way to a pickup truck driven by Edgar Espinoza, 23, of Camarillo, and Espinoza was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the SUV, CHP officials said.
Espinoza’s truck struck the right side of Germain’s SUV.
Thomas, who was sitting in the SUV’s right rear seat with his seat belt fastened, was airlifted to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard. He was later taken to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, where he died Monday.
“This is a tragedy for our family,” said Thomas’ uncle, Gary Germain, reading a statement to the media from Thomas’ family. “We appreciate the outpouring of support we’ve received from friends and strangers, those who rendered assistance at the accident site and all medical personnel involved in Thomas’ care.”
A 12-year-old Camarillo boy in Espinoza’s truck suffered minor injuries. Espinoza and his other passenger, an 18-year-old Camarillo man, were uninjured.
Page Germain, 45, of Huntington Beach was arrested following the collision on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication, then released to the hospital for treatment. She had moderate injuries, including a cut to her face and contusions to her head, said Officer Mike Untalan, a spokesman for the Ventura CHP.
She was later released on her own recognizance.
The crash remained under investigation Wednesday, and the CHP had not yet submitted the case to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. CHP officials expect to file a criminal complaint against Thomas’ aunt, but the exact charges she could face have not been determined, Untalan said.
“We ask that others not jump to conclusions based on preliminary and incorrect information,” Thomas’ relatives said in the statement, without elaborating. “Take the time to appreciate your family and friends every day as life in our modern world can change in the blink of an eye.”
A memorial service for Thomas is tentatively scheduled for July 18 at the Griffin Family Funeral Chapel, 101 E. Wilbur Road in Thousand Oaks.
Source
Thomas Botello was riding in the back seat of a sport utility vehicle driven by his aunt, Page Germain, when the crash occurred about 1 p.m. July 4 at the intersection of Las Posas and Laguna roads near Camarillo.
Heading west on Laguna, Germain stopped at a stop sign at Las Posas Road and then continued into the intersection, where cross traffic does not have a stop sign. She failed to yield the right of way to a pickup truck driven by Edgar Espinoza, 23, of Camarillo, and Espinoza was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the SUV, CHP officials said.
Espinoza’s truck struck the right side of Germain’s SUV.
Thomas, who was sitting in the SUV’s right rear seat with his seat belt fastened, was airlifted to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard. He was later taken to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, where he died Monday.
“This is a tragedy for our family,” said Thomas’ uncle, Gary Germain, reading a statement to the media from Thomas’ family. “We appreciate the outpouring of support we’ve received from friends and strangers, those who rendered assistance at the accident site and all medical personnel involved in Thomas’ care.”
A 12-year-old Camarillo boy in Espinoza’s truck suffered minor injuries. Espinoza and his other passenger, an 18-year-old Camarillo man, were uninjured.
Page Germain, 45, of Huntington Beach was arrested following the collision on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication, then released to the hospital for treatment. She had moderate injuries, including a cut to her face and contusions to her head, said Officer Mike Untalan, a spokesman for the Ventura CHP.
She was later released on her own recognizance.
The crash remained under investigation Wednesday, and the CHP had not yet submitted the case to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. CHP officials expect to file a criminal complaint against Thomas’ aunt, but the exact charges she could face have not been determined, Untalan said.
“We ask that others not jump to conclusions based on preliminary and incorrect information,” Thomas’ relatives said in the statement, without elaborating. “Take the time to appreciate your family and friends every day as life in our modern world can change in the blink of an eye.”
A memorial service for Thomas is tentatively scheduled for July 18 at the Griffin Family Funeral Chapel, 101 E. Wilbur Road in Thousand Oaks.
Source
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)