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Redondo Beach, Third-Time DUI, Refusal, On Parole, Probation
In a Nutshell: Third-time DUI in Torrance wherein the client had two prior DUI arrests within the last three years and refused to submit to a breath or blood test. Case resolved for 150 days in county jail and five years of probation.
Our client, age 29, had been through a lot with the California legal system. While a juvenile at age 16, he had been arrested for robbery (Penal Code § 211) while using a knife to steal a bike in a Redondo Beach park. Greg Hill represented the young man in that matter and had the case resolved as a non-strike assault with a deadly weapon (Penal Code § 245(a)(4)) and the case was later reduced to a misdemeanor despite the client being on home on probation (HOP) with a SCRAM device to detect drug use and cutting off the monitor and fleeing to Las Vegas, where he was caught.
As a young adult, he picked up several public intoxication and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) cases before committing a second assault with a deadly weapon offense, this time using a firearm (Penal Code § 245(a)(1)) and being sent to state prison for a five-year sentence and being released after serving close to five years (his sentence was lengthened due to further violations in custody).
Upon being released from prison, he got a job as a barber and a day-trader on the stock market, but quickly picked up a DUI in 2018 while smashing into three parked cars along a narrow street in Inglewood. Greg represented the client in that case and was able to resolve it with the minimum punishment despite the client having a 0.24% BAC.
About six months later, the client picked up a second DUI at a DUI check point stop, also in the Inglewood area, and Greg was able to resolve the case for first-time terms with a young prosecutor who never read our client’s criminal history to know the DUI was actually a second-time DUI.
About a year later (the day of his son’s first birthday), with just three weeks left in his parole, our client was stopped again for DUI just off Inglewood Avenue in Redondo Beach. The client was just a few blocks from his home. He had two small, empty bottles of Hennessey on his front seat. Allegedly, police stopped him for expired registration, which was suspicious because such a sticker is difficult to read at night even if one is driving directly behind another car.
Torrance CourthouseThe client was pulled over and refused to submit to a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) test at the scene, which is his right if not on probation. However, he was on probation, so such a refusal is a violation of Vehicle Code § 23154(c)(1). He then also refused to submit to a breath or blood test later, which made this case “a refusal” case. He was also driving on a suspended license due to a DUI conviction (Vehicle Code § 14601.2(a) and without valid registration on the car.
After being arrested for this third DUI within three years, the client tried to post bail, but the parole board had been advised of the arrest and placed a hold on him, meaning he could not post bail at all. He also was in violation of probation in two other cases.
The family called Greg Hill & Associates and spoke to Greg about the sad situation. Greg then appeared the very next day for the client’s arraignment in the Torrance Superior Court. Bail was set at $50,000 and Greg requested a reduction to zero and an own-recognizance release. The Redondo Beach City Prosecutor assigned to the case opposed any reduction in bail and recited our client’s criminal history. Greg then offered to have the client “equipped” with a SCRAM (secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring) device and even have him released to a local alcohol rehab facility such as Fred Brown or House of Hope in San Pedro. The judge denied the request and kept bail at $50,000.
The offer to resolve the case was a plea to 23152(a) and five years of informal probation (summary probation) with 180 days in county jail, enrollment in and completion of the SB 38 (18-month) alcohol awareness program, a $510 court fine plus penalties and assessments, two years with an ignition interlock device (IID) and payment of the $245 booking fee for the City of Redondo Beach.
Two more pre-trials in Torrance and the case resolved for the same terms as above except no court fine, as it was converted to three days in county jail, and 150 days in county jail, not 180 days in county jail. All the other charges were dismissed, which was significant mainly because the minimum punishment for a violation of Vehicle Code § 14601.2(a), driving on a license suspended due to a DUI, is ten days in county jail and our client had his license suspended in two DUI cases. The two probation violations were also dismissed, which each could have been punished by up to six months in county jail.
The client was happy with this resolution, as he had 48 days of credit (24 actual plus 24 days good time / work time), so he expected to be released soon so he could return to his young family and work.
For more information about a third-time DUI, please click on the following articles:
