Redondo Beach, Non-Alcohol DUI (Meth), SB 1176 Program
Our client, age 65 and retired, was a regular user of methamphetamine. It was an anti-depressant for him and he was careful never to use it in a reckless manner, or so he thought. He was married and lived in Palos Verdes, but also had a home in Hermosa Beach.
Our client had no prior criminal history at all.
One summer night, he was at his Hermosa Beach home, using methamphetamine. Before driving home to Palos Verdes, he made sure to wait a few hours before leaving. He was deliberate in making sure he combed his hair before leaving and stood in front of a mirror to make sure his clothes looked orderly. It was about thirty minutes past midnight.
As he was driving south on Pacific Coast Highway, a Redondo Police Department officer observed our client traveling at 60 miles per hour in a 35 mile zone, a violation of Vehicle Code § 22350. The officer followed our client and also observed him tailgating another car (a violation of Vehicle Code § 21703). He also made an unsafe lane change in front of the police officer (a violation of Vehicle Code § 22107).
The officer initiated a traffic stop and our client kept going for a few hundred yards before pulling into a shopping mall parking lot.
Officers recorded their encounter with our client on their body-cam video recording device. Our client was sweating profusely and had a pulse of 132, which is extremely high for a 65 year old person, even one running a maximum speed 400 meter repetition.
Officers asked our client if he had taken any drugs that evening because they believed his movements were jerky and stiff, which could be just old age or it could be due to the effects of a stimulant. He also refused to make eye contact with officers and generally acted odd, although he was nervous and was an engineer.
Officers asked him to submit to field sobriety tests and he refused, so he was arrested.
Officers took his pulse again and it was still in the mid-120’s. They asked our client to submit to a blood sample test and he agreed. Officers then transported him to Torrance Memorial Hospital. Our client continued to sweat profusely.
Our client was held for several hours before ultimately being released once he signed a promise to appear in the Torrance Courthouse in about two months.
The client then called many attorneys and spoke with each, ultimately retaining Greg Hill & Associates. In describing the case facts, our client was adamant that the police officers were lying and that he was not driving in an unsafe manner “because everyone drives 60 miles per hour along Pacific Coast Highway.”
When Greg discussed the case with the client, Greg explained that it would be wise to attend 25 to 30 Narcotics Anonymous meetings prior to the arraignment and give him proof of having attended such meetings to take to court, to perhaps resolve the case as a dry reckless, rather than a DUI or a wet reckless.
Greg then appeared at the arraignment, but without proof of the client even having attended one NA meeting, which was not good.
The police report showed our client’s blood was positive for amphetamines, which was consistent with his high pulse, profuse sweating and stiff, jerky movements at the scene.
Greg asked for a dry reckless from the handling Redondo Beach City Prosecutor, who said no and offered a wet reckless.
Greg later asked for a dry reckless and this was extended, but with an obligation that our client attend the AB 541 program and pay a court fine of $390 plus penalties and assessments.
Greg relayed this good news to the client, who said he needed time to think about this because he insisted, he was not unsafe in his driving and, he insisted, his meth use did not make him an unsafe driver.
After several two hour phone calls to discuss how his case would likely be prosecuted in trial, and one three hour and forty-five minute phone call, our client was still undecided about what to do. The prosecutor, frustrated, revoked the offer and offered a simple DUI to our client, which shocked our client.
Ultimately, after more negotiation and two more two-hour phone calls with the client, Greg was able to persuade the prosecutor to extend a wet reckless offer to our client with one year of summary probation, plus the 12-hour SB 1176 alcohol awareness program, a $150 court fine, plus penalties and assessments, an obligation to attend 30 Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and attendance at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) victim impact panel, which our client grudgingly accepted.
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