The DUIs |
| Here you will find descriptions of the two events that ultimately lead to my situation. |
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| January, 2000 - DUI #1 |
I hate to start off this story in such a stereotypical way but I had been drinking all day at my fraternity house. I was actually just out of college but went back for an event that included alumni. As is often the case with such events, we had been making quite a bit of noise and had the cops visit us once early in the evening. We kept it down a little from then on and the party eventually peetered out.
I didn't start drinking until college and wasn't that big a drinker back then, at least not by college standards. I had been intentionally sobering up for a couple hours before I left the house and had switched from the infamous Natural Ice--"Natty Ice" if you're nasty--to water. I ended up leaving the house at around 2am or so.
Apparently the cops were keeping an eye on the fraternity house and I didn't make it a block before being pulled over. In my impatience, I made an illegal left through a red light from a one way street onto a 2-way street. It was a residential area and late at night and I could see that nobody was coming so I was stupid and didn't just wait for the light to change.
At the time I had never been arrested but had been stopped plenty of times for speeding and learned not to bullshit the cops, or at least not to blatantly bullshit them. It's been my experience that if you're cool to them they tend to be more cool to you.
I got the typical questions from the officer about why he pulled me over and if I had been drinking. I claimed I had but said, "Two beers" when asked how much. I've since learned that the majority of people claim to have had that amount when asked by cops.
I was administered a breathalyzer test which showed my BAC at .11%. The officer ran me through the field sobriety tests, and I felt like I did well, but was placed under arrest. They were polite the whole time, probably because I wasn't being belligerent, and even left my car where it was parked on the side of the road rather than tow it which is usually the case. Not having it towed saved me some time and money the next morning.
I was taken to the local police department to have my BAC measured again and to begin processing. You may or may not know this but the breathalyzer test they give you when they pull you over isn't what counts in court. The units are accurate enough to use as a guide but aren't accurate enough to be admissible in court. They have to administer a second test at the police station and the result of that second test is what counts in your court case. At the police station you have the option of the sampling breath, blood, or urine. I opted for blood for 3 reasons:
1. It's the most accurate of the three.
2. It takes longer because they have to call someone to take the test.
3. I'm weird and like having my blood drawn.
The second reason above was something I learned from a fellow DUI offender in the fraternity. Cops can administer the other two tests but someone licensed or approved to take blood has to come out for the blood alcohol test. It ended up taking about an hour before they drew my blood once I got to the station. So I just sat there, handcuffed to a bench, and waited to have my blood drawn. After they took a sample they moved me to another area of the jail to finish the booking.
To be honest, there was a part of me that was interested the process because I always kind of wondered what it was like to be arrested, how jail was, etc... I was curious to see if it was like it was in the movies, not that I wanted to be there for very long.
I noticed that the police station had two drunk tanks which are large cells specifically for people arrested on alcohol related charges. Each room was about the size of your average living room and had one toilet, nothing else. No benches or cots or anything like that. Each room also contained about 15 to 20 people, clearly visible through the one glass wall and door.
I also couldn't help but notice that one drunk tank contained mostly young dudes of unimpressive size like myself, while the other contained what appeared to be mostly badasses and other individuals of intimidating stature. Please let me get the first tank, I said to myself.
Murphy's Law showed its ugly presence and I was put in the second tank with the badasses. I walked in, avoided eye contact, sat against the wall, and just waited. There was really nothing to do. Some guys engaged in conversation to pass the time. I just kept to myself and counted the minutes while also kicking myself for having been arrested.
At one point a big gangbanger-looking dude stopped in front of me while pacing, looked me in the eyes, and said, "This is the big boy tank. What the fuck are you doing in here?"
"I don't know, man," I just said while shrugging. He walked away and that was that.
I was in jail for a total of about 7 hours. A couple hours before I was released they moved some people around, including me, from the "big boy" tank to the other one. By that time I was used to it and didn't really care.
After I was released and got my stuff back, I walked back to my car. Fortunately, the police station was located within a couple miles of where I was arrested so it didn't take too long to retrieve my car. I hopped in and drove home.
Aftermath
Since this site is focused on my second DUI, I'll just list the results of the case here for the first DUI.
My blood sample came back at .08%. In California, and many other states, that's the borderline for what constitutes a DUI. I hired a lawyer and he was able to plead the charge down to a Wet Reckless. Basically, the court considers that a DUI, albeit a slightly lesser charge, and the DMV tends to treat it as Reckless Driving. On my driving record it's listed as a Reckless Driving but with a note that it's alcohol related.
I ended up losing my license for 4 months and having to attend a 12 hour class which consisted of 6 2-hour sessions. I also had to pay a fine of around $500 or so, if memory serves. The 12 hour class was basically the equivalent of just the education part of the program for my second DUI and cost me around $300. The punishment for that first one was a relative walk in the park. Short suspension, no community service, no AA meetings. It does hike up your insurance rates quite a bit, though, especially if you're young.
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| February, 2009 - DUI #2 |
I drove out to a bar to meet a relative who I hadn't seen in quite some time. I had already had a couple shots and realized on the way that, in my haste, I had forgotten to eat dinner. In hindsight, having done so may have helped me that night but there's nothing I can do about that now.
We hung out at a bar for about 3 hours or so during which time I had 4 beers; pints of a pale ale rather than 12oz bottles of Bud or Coors. We eventually parted ways, he went back to his hotel room, and I jumped in my car to head home.
I was on the freeway for what couldn't have been more than 5 minutes when I saw a distinctive looking pair of headlights zoom up close behind me. I think I knew it was a cop just before the red and blues lit up. With an audible, "Fuck.." I pulled my car over to the side of the freeway.
The cop came out, asked me the usual questions, but this time I said I had three beers. I thought that maybe if I didn't go with the knee jerk response of "two beers" he would assume I was being honest and, in turn, be lenient.
He had me step out of the car and ran through the field sobriety tests. Again I thought I did well but the breathalyzer came back with a result of .15% and I was placed under arrest.
Back at the station, following the same reasoning as during my first DUI, I opted for a blood sample for the second test, rather than breath or urine. It took about 45 minutes for the guy to come out and draw my blood. Meanwhile I sat handcuffed to a chair while the officer filled out paperwork.
This second arrest was a little different, and actually a little nicer. It was a much smaller police department than the one to which I was taken the first time I was arrested. It was also a much smaller city. I don't know if they have any large drunk tanks but if they do, I never saw them. In between paperwork, fingerprinting, etc... the officer had me sit in a small cell by myself with a wooden bench in it.
I wasn't being belligerent and, I suppose, was even being friendly. I had to pee so the officer let me use the bathroom next to where he was filling out paperwork. The door had to be kept open and then it was flushed from outside after the officer inspected the toilet's contents. Once I sat down I handcuffed myself back to the chair with a "thanks" from the cop.
My cooperation paid off and once the paperwork was complete the officer let me call a friend to come pick me up rather than spend the night in jail. Luckily I was able to get in touch with a friend nearby and he picked me up and drove me home.
The cops towed my car so I had to go pick it up the next day. The tow company wanted to see some ID. The officer who arrested me confiscated my license but fortunately I had an old ID that I was able to show which they accepted even though it was expired. However, I first had to go down to the police station to get a release for my car which cost me about $70. Then I went back to the tow company, showed them the release, and paid another $300 to get my car back.
A small tip to anyone who drinks and drives: When you have some free time, go down to the DMV and get an ID card to keep as a back up. I don't recommend drinking and driving but if you do, and you get arrested for it, then having a back up ID card will save you some hassle once they confiscate your license.
Aftermath
This site as a whole focuses on the completion of sentencing requirements but I'll summarize it here.
My blood sample came back at .15%. I think it was the same as when I was pulled over in this case--as opposed to being a little lower in the case of my first DUI--because I finished my last beer not long before I got in my car. So while I may have been processing the first drink or two while waiting for my blood to be drawn, the last beer was still making its way into my system.
I hired a lawyer again--a different one from last time and highly recommended. I ended up being convicted in court as a first offender since my first DUI was so long ago. DMV, however, is still treating it as a second DUI. The fine was about $1700, plus 6 days of community service. The court only required a 3 month alcohol program but DMV is requiring an 18 month program which costs about $1600. I also ended up having to pay about $150 for community service once I completed it.
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