Recent Blog Posts in January 2010

azstarnet.com
Tucson police stopped some 650 drivers Friday and arrested 10 drivers on suspicion of  DUI at a sobriety  DUI checkpoint, according to a Tucson Police Department news release.

Friday’s DUI checkpoint involved 13 officers and was at East Irvington Road and South Lostan Avenue, near South 12th Avenue, from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Officers also conducted a saturation patrol until 4 a.m., according to the release.

Of the 10 arrested on suspicion of DUI, three also were suspected of extreme DUI, which means their blood-alcohol content was greater than 0.15, or almost twice the legal limit of 0.08.

One of the drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI was younger than 21, according to the release.

Drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI had an average blood-alcohol content of 0.146.

Fifty-seven other citations also were issued by officers and six vehicles were impounded

sdnn.com
Law officers staffing DUI checkpoints overnight arrested 13 drivers suspected of being drunk and impounded 56 vehicles in Coronado and Escondido, authorities reported.

The vehicles in Coronado were seized from  DUI drivers, Chula Vista police public relations official Bernard Gonzales said.

The DUI checkpoint was run from late Saturday night into the early hours today, a Coronado police dispatcher said. Officers from Coronado, Chula Vista, National City, San Diego and the Sheriff’s Department participated.

In Escondido, officers ran the DUI checkpoint from 6 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday at East El Norte Parkway and Ash Street. Police Lt. Christopher Winn said 2,132 vehicles passed through the checkpoint.

Officers impounded 42 vehicles because the drivers were unlicensed or uninsured.

Six drivers were arrested on suspicion of DUI and one, a parolee, on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle.

One person was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public and one on suspicion of having false documents. Officers issued 42 citations.

nctimes.com
ESCONDIDO ---- Police will conduct a sobriety and  DUI checkpoint from 6 p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday, Escondido Lt. Chris Wynn said.

Police hope to curb the number of deaths and injuries that result from wrecks involving  DUI or unlicensed drivers, he said. The checkpoint location was not disclosed in advance.

People are encouraged to report suspected drunk drivers by calling 911, he added.

Funding for the  DUI checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

azstarnet.com
Nearly $40,000 in state grant money has been awarded to the Tucson Police Department to help enforce traffic laws and prevent DUI, including a sobriety  DUI checkpoint scheduled for Friday.

The $39,690 grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will help TPD with selective traffic enforcement efforts through September, according to a news release.

The release said TPD reinstituted  DUI checkpoints in 2007 and in the first period of enforcement saw an 18 percent decrease in DUI-related crashes.

ocregister.com
The Orange Police Dept. is conducting a  DUI and driver's license checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday, Jan 29.

The  DUI checkpoint is at intersection 700 N. Tustin Street for southbound traffic.

Funding for  DUI special enforcement efforts is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .

Information: 714-744-7444 or visit cityoforange.org/depts/police

The DUI checkpoint will be at an undisclosed location in the city, according to a police news release. Officers will patrol the city looking for impaired drivers.

The DUI checkpoint is funded by a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

kfgo.com
FARGO, ND - A Fargo police officer was injured after getting hit by a drunk driver in the middle of Monday's storm.

Police say poor visibility, excessive speed and alcohol were all factors. The accident happened along 40th Avenue south and 50th Street.

Grant Benjamin was being held overnight at Meritcare for observation. He stopped to check on a stranded vehicle. Sargent Chris Helmick says Benjamin was getting out of his squad an SUV slammed into his vehicle.

Jacob Rheault, 26, of West Fargo, ND, was charged with DUI, driving too fast for conditions and driving with an expired driver's license.

washingtonpost.com
OCALA, Fla. -- An Ocala woman was arrested and charged with  DUI twice in three days. The Marion County Sheriff's Office reported that the 43-year-old woman was first arrested Saturday. She was booked into jail on a DUI charged and released later that day.

miamiherald.com
BELLE GLADE, Fla. -- A Clewiston man was arrested and charged with 12 counts of DUI and causing bodily injury after hitting a Palm Tran bus.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reports that 41-year-old Reginald D. Ford ran a stop sign Wednesday evening and ran into the bus. The bus driver, 12 passengers and a passenger in Ford's vehicle all reported DUI injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital.

A deputy responding to the DUI crash reported smelling alcohol coming from Ford's vehicle and that Ford was unsteady on his feet.

Ford was arrested, and a deputy recovered a small bag of marijuana from Ford's pocket. He was also charged with possession of marijuana.

Ford remained in jail Saturday.

Officers will be looking for DUI drivers , or using an invalid license.

Funding for the DUI checkpoints comes from the Office of Traffic Safety, allowing for up to two checkpoints a month this year, police said.

cape-coral-daily-breeze.com
The Fort Myers Police Department will conduct a  DUI sobriety checkpoint sometime this coming weekend beginning Friday, Jan. 22. The DUI operation will take place at an undisclosed location in the City of Fort Myers as FMPD continues its commitment to getting impaired drivers off our roadways. Checkpoint emphasis is placed on the following:

1. Remove  DUI drivers from the roadway

2. Reduce the likelihood  DUI drivers will operate their vehicles on our roadways

3. Heighten  DUI awareness

4. Educate the public on the dangers of drunk driving.

Various community partnerships, including planned DUI sobriety checkpoints, are established with the goal of educating and informing the public on traffic safety issues. FMPD received funding from the Florida Department of Transportation to host DUI checkpoints. The money helps purchase  DUI checkpoint equipment and to pay officers overtime when they participate in the checkpoints.

hamptonroads.com
A married couple from England visiting family in Virginia Beach were killed Tuesday after a suspected  DUI driver lost control and crashed into their car on Princess Anne Road, police said.

Anthony Eden Tonking, 74, and Mary Jean Tonking, 72, were driving home from spending time at a park in Pungo about 2:30 p.m. when a 1996 BMW struck their vehicle, a 1995 Ford Contour, police said. The Tonkings were driving in the 1900 block of Princess Anne Road, just a few miles from their daughter's home.

Mary Jean Tonking was pronounced dead at the scene. Anthony Tonking, who was driving, died at a hospital.

Christopher Dockiewicz, 44, of the 2400 block of Pitchfork Way in Virginia Beach, was driving the BMW. He was taken to a hospital with serious DUI injuries and is expected to survive. A magistrate went to the hospital, and Dockiewicz was charged with  DUI and two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Dockiewicz was not granted a bond, and sheriff’s deputies were guarding him at the hospital. He was arraigned there today.

The Tonkings spent their winters in Virginia Beach and were here visiting their daughter, Julie Olszewski, and grandchildren, Luke and Laura, according to an e-mail sent by the family. They would have celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary on Jan. 26.

“They touched the lives of everyone they met and were ‘family’ to all who knew them,” according to the e-mail. “They were truly happy together.”

They went by Jean and Tony.

Dockiewicz was headed south on Princess Anne Road and was speeding when the DUI crash occurred Tuesday, said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman. He lost control on a curve and fishtailed into the oncoming lane, where the passenger side of his car smashed into the Tonkings’ car.

“There was actually nothing they could do,” Bernstein said.

The Tonkings were wearing seat belts. Dockiewicz, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was “traveling in excess of the speed limit,” but an estimated speed was not available, Bernstein said.

The Tonkings were to have returned home to England soon, Bernstein said.

“Their last day was spent enjoying the unusually warm weather at Munden Park,” according to the e-mail from the family. “They will be deeply missed and fondly remembered for their kindness, humility and love of life and family and their unique way of ‘lighting up a room’.”

timesleader.com
Pittsburgh police say a school bus driver was  DUI when he ran a red light then nearly hit a light pole while driving 15 high school students on a field trip.

DUI and endangering the Carrick High School students on his bus after his arrest about 6:45 p.m. Monday. Court records don't list an attorney for Dunlap, who doesn't have a listed phone numbers.Thirty-eight-year-old Brian Dunlap was charged with 

Police say the students were alarmed by the driver's glassy eyes, slurred speech and unusual laughter. The bus is owned by SD Transit, whose owner did not return a phone call.

Pittsburgh Public Schools officials say the trip was organized by a group that promotes volunteerism, and wasn't an official school function.

miamiherald.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- A Tampa man was charged with  DUI after reportedly crashing into a trolley.

Tampa police say 34-year-old Joshua Pelletier was driving on the trolley tracks Saturday night when he ran his sport utility vehicle into an oncoming trolley.

DUI and failure to drive on a designated roadway. He was released Sunday on $500 DUI bail.Officers reported Pelletier recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.217 and 0.214 percent. State law considers a person impaired at 0.08. He was arrested and charged with suspicion of

The trolley was carrying four passengers and the operator, but no injuries were reported. Little damage was done to the trolley, and it was working again a short time later.

kval.com
VIDA, Ore. -- Police charged a 19-year-old Eugene man on suspicion of DUI after a head-on crash Sunday afternoon that seriously injured a woman from Eugene.

Candace Lee Chitty, 63, of Eugene was seriously injured in the crash. She was taken by ambulance to Sacred Hearth Medical Center at RiverBend.

Chitty was eastbound on Highway 126 near Vida, Ore., when her 1996 Nissan sedan was hit head-on by a 1995 Acura Integra driven by Jason A. Curtis, 19, of Eugene, according to Oregon State Police.

The DUI crash happened near milepost 23 at 4:10  p.m. Sunday.

Curtis was taken by ambulance with minor injuries to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.  After being treated and released, Oregon State Police arrested Curtis and jailed him on suspicion of:

• DUI
Reckless Driving
• Recklessly Endangering Another Person
• Assault in the Third Degree
• Failure to Drive Within a Lane,
• Possession of an Open Container of Alcohol in a Motor Vehicle
• Minor in Possession of Alcohol
• Refusing a Breath Test

seattlepi.com
Looks like the Real Housewives of New Jersey's table-flipping Teresa Giudice has some off-season drama to deal with.

Real Housewives of New Jersey Stars to guest on Mercy

Giudice's husband, Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice, was charged with DUI after crashing into a telephone pole in New Jersey on Thursday, People reports.

Police in Montville Township, N.J., responded to an emergency call shortly before 2 a.m. and arrived to find Giudice at the scene of the DUI accident, Police Captain Ed Rosellini told the magazine. He was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital.

Check out photos from last season of Real Housewives of New Jersey

Giudice was charged with "DUI, reckless driving, DUI driving [and] failure to maintain his traffic lane," according to Rossellini.

Due to outstanding warrants, Giudice was handed over to the Clifton, N.J., police department, said Rosellini. He was released on $2,625 bail later that morning, according to TMZ.

deseretnews.com
MILLCREEK — The political future of Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack is unclear after he was arrested early Friday for investigation of DUI.

"I am deeply sorry for the impact this DUI incident will have on those who support and trust me — my colleagues in the Senate, my constituents and, most importantly, my family," the Republican from Syracuse said in a statement released by the Senate. "I am a firm believer in responsibility and personal accountability, and am prepared to accept all personal, legal and political consequences for my actions."

The Utah State Constitution contains a provision granting lawmakers "privilege from arrest" during a legislative session as well as 15 days before and after, "in all cases except treason, felony or breach of the peace … " The 2010 Legislature begins Jan. 25.

Killpack's DUI attorney, said he and co-counsel Kim Cordova were told by Killpack he "does not intend to avail himself of that provision, and he intends to go through the process as would any other citizen. However, we as his DUI lawyers may have a different opinion and we will discuss that in the future."

An alternate site has been designated as U.S. Route 60 near the 29th Street Exit of Interstate 64.

The focus of this checkpoint is DUI enforcement. Other enforcement activities may be conducted focusing on reckless driving, speeding, DUI, and seat belt violations.

The DUI checkpoint will be in the Beaver area from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m.

The purpose of the DUI sobriety checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, and educate the public about the dangers of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. DUI  checkpoints are conducted several times throughout the year.

hamptonroads.com
NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith pleaded guilty Thursday in Circuit Court to a charge of DUI. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of speeding and refusing to submit to a blood or breath alcohol test.

Circuit Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. ordered Smith to pay a $1,000 fine, enroll in an alcohol safety program, and remain on good behavior for a year. Smith, who lives in Virginia Beach, also received a 90-day suspended jail term and a restricted driver’s license for a year.

Smith, a Virginia Beach resident, was pulled over on Interstate 264 late May 14 and arrested after he failed field DUI sobriety tests and refused to take a breath test.

After Thursday’s brief hearing, Smith said he wanted to take ownership for his actions and put the incident behind him. He said he has acknowledged drinking wine with friends in Norfolk before his arrest.

“I made the decision I was OK to drive home,” he said. “That was the first mistake.”

The second mistake, he said, was refusing to take the breath test.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Bryant said that the plea agreement achieved “the goal of having Mr. Smith accept responsibility for his conduct and getting him convicted of DUI.”

Smith’s case took an unusual turn in June, when the officer who arrested him was also charged with DUI. The officer, Bryan Womble, crashed his car while off-duty at the Oceanfront.

He was convicted and sentenced to the mandatory five days in jail for having a blood-alcohol content of .15. Prosecutors considered Womble’s conviction – and the fact that he no longer is a Beach police officer – when they reached the plea deal with Smith, said Bryant.

Smith said he wanted to take ownership of his crime, and he said Womble’s situation played no role in his decision to plead guilty.

He was behind the wheel of a Bentley heading east on Interstate 264 on that May night when Womble pulled him over. Smith admitted to drinking wine earlier, and he was arrested after failing field sobriety tests and refusing to take the breath test.

It was Smith’s third DUI charge in 13 years. His first, in 1997, was dismissed. He was acquitted of his second in 2003.

During a trial on July 9 in General District Court, Smith was convicted of DUI, speeding and refusing to take a blood or breath test. He immediately appealed the verdict to the Circuit Court, effectively setting aside the conviction and his sentence, which included a 90-day suspended jail term, $440 in fines and one-year suspension of his driver’s license.

Smith said Thursday that he thought he had a 50/50 chance of beating the DUI charge in Circuit Court, but he still would have had to face the charge of refusing to take a breath test. “The risk versus the reward was not in our favor,” he said.

He said he hopes to return to his work in the community. He also said he had hired a former state trooper to accompany him when he goes out.

Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. He is a graduate of Norfolk’s Booker T. Washington High School and Virginia Tech, and he played 19 seasons for the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins before retiring from the NFL in 2003.

blog.seattlepi.com
Nothing says happy holidays like getting knee-walking drunk and getting behind the wheel of your car.

The Washington State Patrol says it has made 713 arrests for DUI in King County since Thanksgiving week, including 256 from holiday emphasis patrols. Some DUI arrests are still being counted.

The good news is that there were no alcohol-related traffic deaths.

The emphasis patrols -- seven troopers and one sergeant who patrolled the county at night -- worked with several other police agencies as part of what was called the X-52 DUI patrols.

The patrol counted one alcohol-related accident with serious injuries. The patrol said that occurred Dec. 15 when a repeat DUI offender crossed the center median on eastbound Interstate 90 at Preston and hit a westbound motorist head on. Both drivers remain in the hospital.

Police say Angelica Godinez of Antioch, Calif., was arrested Monday after she led authorities on a short chase with a 10-year-old child in her minivan.

The Nevada Highway Patrol says troopers had pulled over another vehicle at 9:20 p.m. when Godinez approached, failed to slow and almost hit one of the officers.

The patrol says Godinez' license previously was revoked due to a DUI conviction. She was booked on suspicion of failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, eluding an officer, child endangerment, second offense DUI and driving on a revoked license.

The child was the daughter of an adult female passenger.

mainjustice.com
A Rhode Island Assistant U.S. Attorney who was charged with refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test and DUI had the second charged dismissed today, The Associated Press reports.

Warwick, R.I., city solicitor Robert Sgroi recommended the charge be dropped in part because because Sullivan last week admitted there was enough evidence to prove he refused the breathalyzer and because he has already lost his license. Earlier today, a Warwick, R.I., judge agreed to Sgroi’s request.

On Thanksgiving morning, Gerard B. Sullivan was stopped by police in Warwick, R.I.,  after two motorists contacted police about the driver of a BMW — identified as Sullivan — who they said was driving erratically. Sullivan was charged with failing to take a breathalyzer test, but he was not initially charged with DUI. The police report said Sullivan informed the officers of his prosecutorial job numerous times, told the officers he knew the police chief and asked if there was “anything he could do.” He has had his driver’s license revoked for seven months, The AP reports.

In addition to an internal investigation being conducted in the police department, the Justice Department is also conducting an investigation into whether Sullivan attempted to use his position to avoid the DUI charge.

wsfa.com
WETUMPKA, AL (WSFA) - Patrick Cumbie, who pleaded guilty to DUI charges in a boating accident  that killed two people, learned his fate in an Elmore County courtroom Monday morning.

Cumbie will serve 12 months in prison followed by three years on DUI probation as part of the plea deal.

An intoxicated Cumbie was operating a vessel on Lake Martin on August 9, 2008 when it slammed into another boat carrying Donny Tatum and his sister-in-law, Sue Tatum. Both victims died as a result of the DUI crash. Three other people in the boat with the Tatums were also injured.

Cumbie's blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was nearly double the legal limit in the state of Alabama.

2.scnow.com
DARLINGTON — A Timmonsville man has been charged with felony DUI in connection with a DUI crash that killed his wife in Darlington County on Friday night.

Charlton Lafate Hill, 47, of 1101 Sansbury Road was discharged from an area hospital Sunday and arrested Sunday afternoon, Darlington County Sheriff’s Capt. Andy Locklair said. Hill also is charged with failure to stop for a blue light and driving under suspension.

A bond hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday before a county magistrate at the Darlington County Detention Center, Locklair said.

Hill is accused of leading a S.C. Highway Patrol trooper on a high-speed chase that began about 6:30 p.m. and ended when his 2005 Chevy Cobalt ran into a tree on the 1600 block of Potato House Road near Darlington.

His only passenger, his 47-year-old wife Sylvia Britt Mattox Hill, was pronounced dead at the scene, Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee said in a press release issued Saturday.

“Coroner Hardee has not issued a ruling into the death at this time. This ruling will be made once all DUI evidence has been collected and examined by the Coroner’s Office,” according the release.

Hill’s body was sent to Newberry for an autopsy Sunday, but results are not yet available.

The chase, which lasted about a minute, started with an attempted traffic stop on Potato House Road, S.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins said.

The driver of the car failed to stop for blue lights and fled, Collins said. The pursuing trooper was not injured.

Patrol officials are reviewing the DUI case to make sure policy was followed, Collins said.

“Because the trooper was chasing the car, they (S.C. Highway Patrol) have asked us to investigate the wreck,” Darlington County Sheriff Wayne Byrd said in a press release issued Monday.

The Darlington Police Department provided the sheriff’s office with an accident reconstructionist to assist in the investigation Friday and Saturday, Locklair said.

Preliminary results show that the car was traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control, according the sheriff’s office release.

The sheriff’s office and coroner’s office are still investigating incident, Hardee said in his release.

dailymail.com
A Rand woman with a history of DUI arrests was wearing a home confinement bracelet on her ankle and had a Putnam deputy's badge in her purse when she was pulled over and charged with DUI on Interstate 77 in Charleston.  

Trooper M.J. Napier was heading south on Interstate 77 early Sunday when a black Ford Mustang passed him in the fast lane at a speed greater than the posted limit.

Napier signaled the Mustang to pull over just past the Greenbrier Street exit and identified the driver as Roxanna Lynn Hawkins, 39, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

The trooper said Hawkins' breath smelled of alcohol and she showed other signs of impairment. Hawkins told Napier she had just left Tri-State Racing and Gaming Casino in Nitro, where she works, and had not consumed any alcohol, the complaint said.

The trooper checked with the state Department of Motor Vehicles and found that the woman's license was revoked for five separate DUI charges, all said to have occurred within the last two years, one charge of driving with a license revoked for DUI, and multiple unpaid citations, the complaint said.

The woman also had three alcohol-related convictions. She was convicted for DUI in 2001 in Putnam County and in 2008 in Kanawha County. She also was convicted in October 2009 for driving on a license revoked for DUI, troopers said. 

Hawkins told the trooper she could not perform the field sobriety tests because of a leg injury and the cold weather. The woman provided a breath sample for a preliminary breath test and the result was over the legal limit, the complaint said.  

The woman was arrested and charged with felony third-offense DUI and driving with a license revoked for DUI.

While searching Hawkins, Napier found an official Putnam County sheriff's deputy badge in her purse, the complaint said.

Hawkins has no law enforcement affiliation and the badge was confirmed to be in her possession unlawfully, as it had been stolen from its owner, according to the complaint.

Napier said Sunday evening that the Putnam deputy, whom he would not identify, did not know the badge was missing.

Hawkins has not been charged with a crime at this point regarding the badge, he said. Troopers still are trying to determine how the woman came to have the badge and if she had misused it.

The woman was wearing a home confinement ankle bracelet when she was arrested, the complaint said. Hawkins had posted bond for three other counts of driving with a license revoked for DUI and a separate, second-offense DUI charge, the complaint said.

Hawkins is being held at South Central Regional Jail.

philly.com
Calling witness intimidation "a gigantic problem" in Philadelphia, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said yesterday that he would support legislation to make it a federal crime when threats are made in cases prosecuted in local court.

When serious crimes go unpunished because of the loss of a witness, "that's a total breakdown of the rule of law, and it's appropriate for the federal government to come and help out," said Specter, who convened a Senate subcommittee hearing on the subject at the National Constitution Center.

Specter, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is up for reelection this year, called the hearing in response to a series of stories in The Inquirer that highlighted problems in the city's troubled courts.

Later yesterday, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is challenging Specter for the Senate nomination in the Democratic primary, held a competing community forum on the same issues.

Sestak read excerpts from The Inquirer series to the audience, and said the findings were disturbing and the problems systemic.

"No one is singularly at fault here. We all are," he said. "We have neglected our cities for far too long."

The Inquirer stories documented a criminal justice system in crisis, beset by the nation's lowest felony conviction rate, a massive number of fugitives, and an epidemic of witness intimidation.

At the two sessions, witnesses said problems in the city's criminal justice system were deep-rooted and severe - and would take the participation of many players to fix.

Robert Welsh, a criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges would have to find common ground as they searched for solutions, perhaps by changing laws or rules of criminal procedure.

"I assure you, everybody has the same thing to say about this, and that's 'the system is broken,' " he said.

John Goldkamp, a criminologist and professor at Temple University, said the issues highlighted by The Inquirer were "symptoms of dysfunction."

The newspaper reported that criminal cases routinely collapse because witnesses have been frightened or harmed.

Prosecutors, judges and criminal defense lawyers told the newspaper that witness recantations had become the norm in city courtrooms.

"If law enforcement breaks down because of some misguided notion of not being a snitch, something has to be done," Specter said.

He stopped just short of saying that he would introduce a bill to make intimidating witnesses in local court cases a federal crime, but endorsed the idea and said he would talk to his colleagues to line up support.

Specter said the prospect of federal charges would have a strong deterrent effect. He said it would trigger FBI investigations and trials in the tough federal system, where sentences are long and court delays few.

U.S. statutes can "federalize" a crime, provided that there is a link to interstate commerce in the wrongdoing. For example, federal prosecutors pursue bank robbers because banks are tied into the federal monetary system, or go after robbers of convenience stores stocked with goods trucked across state lines.

Federal law forbids the intimidation of witnesses in federal court proceedings and mandates tough punishment. Prosecutors may seek the death penalty for defendants convicted of killing federal witnesses.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who spoke at Specter's hearing, agreed that the federal hammer would hit hard.

"I think that would make a tremendous difference and make people think twice before they did it," he said.

Ramsey, like Specter, said criminals were fearful of being charged in federal court, where prosecutors have markedly higher conviction rates. Most cases, however, especially those involving acts of violence, are tried in the local courts.

Other witnesses at the Senate hearing included two people whose tragic stories were highlighted in The Inquirer series.

Ted Canada spoke of how his son, Lamar, 17, was shot to death in 2005, gunned down over a gambling debt. He detailed how one witness in the murder case was killed after he testified at a court hearing, and how another witness disavowed his earlier statement to police because he had been threatened.

In the streets, Canada said, "they have a phrase - snitches get stitches."

Barbara Clowden spoke of the death of her son, Eric Hayes, 16. He was killed in 2006, days before he was to testify as a witness in an attempted arson case.

In other testimony, a veteran criminal defense lawyer  criticized The Inquirer's articles, calling them "frightfully inflammatory."

Coard said the newspaper, in highlighting the collapse of a majority of violent-crime cases each year, failed to emphasize that defendants are presumed innocent.

He called witness intimidation a problem but said he did not consider it a crisis.

Ramsey disagreed and said police officers and prosecutors confront the problem every day.

"It's something that's very, very severe, in my opinion," he said.

The commissioner urged more funding for the city's witness relocation program, which relies on state money and has lost funding in recent years.

Specter said he would urge his colleagues in the Senate to funnel federal money to local programs to protect witnesses.

A measure to provide $30 million a year for five years overwhelmingly passed the House last year. It is pending in the Senate. Specter supports the measure. Sestak is a cosponsor.

Yesterday's hearing was the first public step in an examination of Philadelphia's criminal court system that Specter launched in response to The Inquirer series. He said his next focus would be the city's fugitive problem - 47,000 people are wanted on bench warrants for skipping court.

Cpl. John Quigg, 47, of Wyndmoor, has been placed on administrative duty at the Philadelphia Barracks on Belmont Avenue, where he works, pending adjudication of the DUI charges and the results of an internal investigation, state police said.

That means he'll report to work but perform only paperwork, said Trooper Danea Durham, spokeswoman for the barracks.

"He won't be on the road," Durham said.

Quigg could not be reached for comment yesterday.

A DUI police  report Dec. 17 says Quigg, while off-duty, was driving west on Route 422 in Upper Merion at a slow speed when he lost control of his Honda.

The vehicle came to rest against the guardrail, and officers found Quigg slumped over the wheel at 9:02 p.m., the report says. No other vehicles were involved.

Quigg was evaluated at Phoenixville Medical Center, where a blood sample was taken, the DUI report said.

His blood-alcohol level was not available yesterday because not all the paperwork had been filed at the King of Prussia district court where other charges were lodged, court officials said.

Other charges include careless driving, DUI, and driving with an open alcoholic beverage, police said.

Lt. Myra A. Taylor, spokeswoman for the state police in Harrisburg, depicted Quigg as "an awesome police officer" who has "done an enormous amount of good work."

"He's a hard charger," she said. "This really, really hurts."

At the time of the DUI, Quigg was assigned to the Collision Accident Reconstruction Specialist Unit. The unit reconstructs crashes on major highways and some municipalities in Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties, Taylor said.

Using witnesses, physics, and physical evidence, Quigg and his team of experts determine how fast the cars were going and what caused the collision, she said.

Quigg is also expert in analyzing behavior to recognize what controlled substance a driver might be on, Taylor said.

A preliminary hearing on the DUI charges is set for Feb. 5 in Upper Merion.

Joshua Salayich on Thursday pleaded guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death or substantial bodily injury.

Thirty-three-year-old Jeremy Kunz, of Kamas, Utah, was taking part in the 180-mile Ragnar Relay run from Valley of Fire State Park to Red Rock Resort when he was struck and killed near a relay exchange in Henderson on Oct. 10.

The 25-year-old Salayich also faced a charge of leaving the scene of a DUI accident, which a prosecutor says will be dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Sentencing is set for May 10.

A DUI checkpoint at De Long and Machin avenues resulted in four citations for unlicensed drivers, two for suspended licenses and two other citations. A DUI checkpoint at Ignacio Boulevard and Enfrente Road netted one suspended driver's license, four other citations and one arrest for public intoxication.

On Dec. 31, Novato police conducted criminal probation checks through contacts and searches of probationers. Eight investigations were conducted out of 21 searches, and three arrests were made for possession of narcotics and contributing to the delinquency of minors.

nbcphiladelphia.com
 A Pennsylvania State Police corporal in charge of DUI checkpoints in the Philadelphia area allegedly got drunk and crashed his car into a guardrail last month.

signonsandiego.com
At least 684 people were arrested for DUI in San Diego County during the last two weeks of the year, up from 398 in the same period last year.

The arrests were the result of a winter holiday DUI crackdown, which lasted from midnight Dec. 18 through midnight Thursday night. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department compiled the preliminary data from 17 law enforcement agencies in the county and released the results on Friday.

The department urged the public to call 911 to report DUI suspects.

“When you see a car swerving all over the road, driving much too fast or much too slow, braking for no reason, driving with no headlights at night or signaling one way and turning the other, make that call to 911,” said Sgt. Jason Rothlein.

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The number of DUI arrests in Arizona were up in 2009 from 2008.

The state's 16 DUI task forces made more than 14,000 DUI arrests last year and about 5,000 of those arrests were just from Thanksgiving to New Year's alone.

Thats up from about 11,000 DUI arrests made in 2008. Statistics released by the governor's office show 1,000 of those arrests were made for extreme DUI where the drivers had blood-alcohol levels of .15 or higher.

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At least 20 people died in DUI traffic accidents statewide over the New Year's holiday, and DUI arrests were up more than 30 percent in California compared to the same period last year, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers statewide made 898 arrests on suspicion of DUI between 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 6 a.m. today, up from 688 DUI arrests during the same 36-hour reporting period a year ago.

A suspected drunken driver has trouble keeping his balance during this 2006 traffic stop in Ladera Ranch by an Orange County Sheriff's Department deputy.

 

Officials also reported 20 traffic deaths over the New Year's holiday, up from 16 a year ago, although the deaths were not necessarily DUI-related fatalities, the CHP noted.

"People are not designating a non-intoxicated driver, and people need to be aware and remember how important it is to have that person to make sure they get home safely," said Officer Krystal Carter of the CHP's transportation management center in Los Angeles.

Local statistics on DUI arrests won't be released until Monday, but no traffic deaths were reported in Orange County, the CHP said.

Six of this year's 20 traffic deaths in California happened during a 12-hour period that began at 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve, according to the CHP.

And 527 of the DUI arrests – or 59 percent – occurred during this same 12-hour period.

Police Chief Rich St. John said he wants people to enjoy their new year's eve but encourages them to celebrate responsibly.

"We just want people to make very good decisions. They know very well what the ramifications are. Over and over and over again we are dealing with these DUI tragedies and there's no need for it. So if people exercise some common sense, utilize a designated driver or some of the programs out there we will have a very safe holiday."

St. John said the Billings police department generally sees an increase in DUI arrests with the increased officer presence on New Years Eve.