No DWI-Related Fatalities at This Year’s Fiesta
Posted by admin on 05.10.2012
Fiesta, an annual 11-day festival in San Antonio, is usually a dangerous time in terms of drunk drivers. Luckily, when Fiesta concluded on April 29, no DWI-related fatalities had been reported.
Over the 11 days of the festival, San Antonio police arrested 373 individuals for driving while intoxicated. Bexar County already has a 24-7 no-refusal policy in place. The Texas Department of Transportation approved funding to bring in more officers for the duration of Fiesta, which likely contributed to the significant increase in DWIs from years past. TxDOT also sold $20 cab vouchers to festival-goers who didn’t have a designated driver.
This year, Fiesta San Antonio brought almost 700,000 people to San Antonio. Because of the success of this year’s and last year’s initiatives, it is likely that the city will continue to enforce aggressive DWI policies and reach out to anti-drunk driving community partners in years to come.
If you have been arrested for DWI, you should contact the McMinn Law Firm’s DWI lawyers today.
San Marcos Repeat Offender Returns to Jail Without Bail
Posted by admin on 05.01.2012
San Marcos resident and repeat drunk driving offender Stephanie Beth Cerda has been arrested and is in jail after driving down I-35 the wrong way under the influence of alcohol and possibly other drugs. The 26-year-old University of Texas at San Antonio student is currently facing multiple alcohol-related charges, including intoxication assault, a felony.
In April 2010, Cerda was involved in a head-on collision with a fellow UTSA student, Gerardo Razo. He collected $2.7 million in damages after breaking both arms and both legs in the crash.
Previous to the most recent arrest, Cerda used lotion to take off her ankle monitor. She had been at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center after she was released from jail for her initial arrest. Although her lawyer claimed that the monitor was simply malfunctioning, she was required to return to jail without bail until her court date.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car wreck due to negligence, we can help you pursue your case. Contact The McMinn Law Firm today.
New Breathalyzer Technology in Corpus Christi
Posted by admin on 04.24.2012
New technology may make it easier for officers to perform a breathalyzer test, and Nueces County probation officers have already begun using it. A higher-quality portable breathalyzer has been on the market for only a month, and several police departments have purchased them.
Nueces County’s police department, located in Corpus Christi, is using the portable breathalyzers for DWI offenders’ probation cases. The offenders are given the breathalyzer to keep with them, and must submit to a breathalyzer test whenever they receive a text message from their probation officer.
The device also takes a picture of the individual taking the test to guarantee that the individual hasn’t passed it off to someone else. Furthermore, the breathalyzer uses GPS technology to notify the officer of the individual’s location.
The new devices are fairly cost-competitive with traditional breathalyzers: about $80 more per month for each one. Thus far, the Austin Police Department has not yet revealed plans to purchase any of these new breathalyzers.
DWIs are a serious offense. If you have been charged with one contact the Austin DWI lawyers at the McMinn Law Firm today.
DWI Repeat Offenders Pose Safety Risk
Posted by admin on 04.03.2012
In response to a growing number of DWI repeat offenders, Texas lawmakers recently passed stricter laws for individuals who have multiple DWI convictions. Most individuals who are convicted of a second DWI offense must install a breathalyzer interlock device in his or her car for a probationary period, for example. However, because this law was enacted less than a year ago, hundreds of repeat offenders continue to drive under the influence.
Julie Jones, the widow of Brent Jones, knows this better than most people. She and her husband were hit by Jack Strickland, a four-time DWI offender. Brent died almost immediately.
By some estimates, DWI offenders drive drunk about 80 times before they are convicted of drunk driving. Additionally, in America, there are about two million three-time DWI offenders on the roads who are not in jail. Unfortunately, Julie and Brent Jones’s story is not unique: almost 1,500 Texans die in alcohol-related crashes each year. If you have been involved in a car accident involving alcohol, you deserve a fair trial. Contact the McMinn Law Firm today.
