August 2011 Archives

Labor Day weekend typically signals the end of summer, inspiring thousands of Angelenos to flock to the beaches and revel in the final days of summer bliss. It also typically means an end-of-summer Labor Day DUI crackdown and increased DUI checkpoint locations as authorities make sure drivers are celebrating safely.

This year is no different, and Los Angeles police are already in the midst of a drunk driving campaign dubbed the "Avoid the 100" because of the number of local police agencies involved, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Dennis Patrick Malavasi, the son of ex-Rams Coach Ray Malavasi, received one year in jail, five years of probation and one year in an alcohol treatment program for his 13th drunk driving conviction, reports The Orange County Register.

The La Habra man has had a dozen drunk driving convictions over the past three decades, with the first stemming back to 1976, according to court documents. Five of those convictions were for felonies in which he received prison time. However, the younger Malavasi has been conviction-free since 2001.

In a case of celebrity DUI déjà vu, another celebrity-behaving-badly tried to throw down with the police after being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.

Singer/actress Teairra Mari was arrested for a DUI and assaulting a police officer last Friday, reports BET.

The 23-year-old star of Lottery Ticket was allegedly involved in a fender bender at 3:00 a.m. Friday morning in the upscale neighborhood of Beverly Hills. When police arrived, they noticed "signs of intoxication," and arrested Mari. Mari then reportedly became "combative," which resulted in one officer receiving a minor cut on his hand, BET stated.

Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Shia Labeouf ... Orlando Brown?

The 23-year-old actor and rapper has allegedly joined the ranks of former Disney stars behaving badly after he was arrested on a drunk driving charge in Los Angeles, reports United Press International.

Brown was initially pulled over for a routine traffic stop because he did not have a license plate, authorities said. After smelling alcohol on Brown, the Los Angeles Police Department West Traffic Divison conducted field sobriety tests, which Brown reportedly failed. He almost got away with it, too - police pulled over the actor in front of his house.

Adding to the widely-held belief that beautiful actresses get away with everything, Estella Warren received the sweetest DUI plea bargain of the year after entering a no contest plea to driving under the influence, reports the Associated Press. Warren will only have to attend an alcohol program for eighteen months after facing four misdemeanor charges for allegedly crashing into three parked cars with her Prius while intoxicated, assaulting a police officer, and then trying to escape from a police station.

The "Planet of the Apes" stunner was also sentenced to five years of informal probation, a slap on the wrist after her allegedly violent incident with Los Angeles police officers in May. Warren could have potentially faced a few years behind bars if she had been convicted of her hit-and-run, battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and DUI charges.

Drinking and driving is always a risky gamble, but the odds may get increasingly worse if you're driving inebriated down the Angeles Crest Highway.

Four fatal crashes, one attributed to a DUI crash, have occurred on the Angeles Crest Highway since its June reopening, prompting officials to take a closer look at the dangerous road, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Concerns about the road's safety increased after the fourth fatal car accident occurred Saturday. The first three occurred within in the first three weeks after the highway reopened. CHP officers blamed all three deaths one excessive speeds. Drunk driving was also included as a cause of death for one of the crashes.

Although celebrities may seem larger-than-life, they have all of the same legal rights and responsibilities that we do, and a celeb behaving badly behind the wheel can provide the rest of us many teachable moments about DUI consequences.

Here are our picks for the top 5 celebrity DUI stories from the first-half of 2011, complete with the most memorable learn-your-lesson DUI moments:

Think you'll get away with traveling while intoxicated by jumping on a two-wheeler instead of a car when you're smashed?

Think again, says LAPD. Officers cited six riders for bicycle "DUIs" and impounded at least one bike after investigating reports of a group of bikers cycling under the influence (CUI) and holding up traffic in Playa del Rey, reports the Los Angeles Times.

LAPD and the Los Angeles Superior Court aren't playing around with Christopher "Kid" Reid of Kid n' Play fame; officers arrested Reid at his Los Angeles home after a warrant was issued stemming from a 2010 drunk driving case, reports Reuters.

Although Reid had pled no contest to a charge of driving under the influence, he failed to appear in court to two probation status hearings.

A judge, fed up with the truant Kid, issued an arrest warrant on July 25, according to Patricia Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Superior Court, and police took him into custody on Tuesday.

It looks like Samantha Ronson couldn’t let former flame Lindsay Lohan have all the illegal fun; the 33-year-old was busted for drunk driving as she drove back to Los Angeles from Sin City. She was charged with two misdemeanor DUI counts, reports The Washington Post.

Ronson was reportedly driving a sleek black Porsche when she was pulled over by law enforcement for speeding outside of Baker, California at 10:30 in the morning last Tuesday.

If you happen to be a hungry, 27-year-old Asian woman who just took a shot of rum with a coke back at the local watering hole the day after her menstrual cycle ended, chances are you should stay far away from driving a car or operating heavy machinery for a while.

It’s just chemistry, baby.

The Wall Street Journal recently took a look at the effects of consuming alcohol and came to the conclusion that it’s highly individualistic; but there are some tell-tale factors that you may be able to bet on.

SueLyn Medeiros, the catwalking, sobriety test-failing hip hop video model, has been charged in connection with her DUI bust last month, reports TMZ.com.

The Brazilian beauty was arrested in Hollywood on July 13th, on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Medeiros reportedly sideswiped a parked car with her DeLorean before she was pulled over and asked to do a sobriety test by police.

It’s a well-known fact that drunk driving dangers increase around the holidays, but perhaps Los Angeles drivers should be wary about the first of every month as well.

Economic researchers have hypothesized in an upcoming study that recorded mortality spikes on the first day of every month may be connected to what should be the happiest day of the month: payday, reports the Freakonomics Blog.

According to researcher and Notre Dame economist William Evans, the causes of death for 17 to 29 population were correlated to high amounts of substance abuse and blunt force trauma from auto accidents.