Recently in DUI Cases Category

A DUI attorney representing Andrew Thomas Gallo tried to appeal a judge's decision to have the defendant's trial in Orange County, but such efforts proved to be unsuccessful with the appeals court ruling. NBC News reported that the appellate court panel in Santa Ana ruled last week that the drunk driving case will not be moved from Orange County.

Andrew Gallo has gotten a widespread of negative news coverage over the last year and a half, since he was accused of killing Anaheim Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart in a 2009 drunk driving crash. In addition to the death of the Angel, Andrew Gallo has been accused of killing to other people that were riding in Nick Adenhart's vehicle. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to three second degree murder counts and can be sentenced to 50 years in prison if he is convicted of all the criminal charges.

Actor Chris Klein, who plays Oz in the American Pie series is trying to fight his DUI most recent DUI charge and avoid going to jail. E! Online reports that if the actor is convicted of the drunk driving charge, it would be the second DUI on his record. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge back in 2005.

How does Chris Klein plan to get out of this legal mess? For starts, actor Chris Klein is seeking both legal help and mental health. He has the high-profile Los Angeles DUI attorney Blair Berk working on his case. Blair Berk has also represented Mel Gibson, Cameron Diaz, Lindsay Lohan and Queen Latifah in their criminal cases. Chris Klein also recently spent 30 days at the Cirque Lodge rehab center in Park City, Utah so that he could stay dry and deal with his alcohol addiction.

A judge ruled last week that Andrew Thomas Gallo will have his trial in Orange County, asserting confidence that a fair jury can be selected to hear the matter. Yet many Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys still aren't certain that Orange County residents will ever be able to forget about the intense coverage of the crash that killed Anaheim Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and may question the fairness of his trial.

OC Weekly reports that Andrew Gallo has been accused of killing Nick Adenhart and two other people in a 2009 drunk driving crash. The suspect had a blood alcohol level that was more than three times the legal limit after the crash and also had one prior DUI conviction. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to three second degree murder counts and can be sentenced to 50 years in prison if he is convicted of all the criminal charges. This could be a trial to remember for DUI attorneys all over California.

A recent arrest in Orange County shows that law enforcers are not above the law and can also get themselves into legal trouble for driving under the influence. The Los Angeles Times reports that a former Orange County sheriff's deputy was charged with one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury and two felony counts of selling a substance in lieu of cocaine, with a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury.

Deputy Allan James Waters allegedly hurt a 78-year-old woman in an accident while he was driving under the influence of prescription drugs. According to the Los Angeles Times, this was the second accident of the evening for Allan Waters on March 1. He was reportedly off-duty at the time of the accident, but now no loner works for the department.

A 12-year-old girl from Los Angeles and her 21-year-old cousin were killed by a suspected drunk driver last Sunday, leaving one man to face a long list of drunk-driving related charges. The San Bernardino Sun reports that 21-year-old Alexander Deleon Velasco remains jailed at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on $25,000 bail. Prosecutors have charged him with gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI causing injury and DUI over 0.08 percent alcohol causing injury.

Alexander Velasco has been accused of running a stop sign and hitting the other vehicle at an intersection in the city of Muscoy. The incident occurred at Mesa and Macy Streets when a pickup truck collided with a Kia Optima. The 12-year-old girl reportedly died at the scene, but the 21-year-old was not immediately killed. The man died in the hospital on Monday night after he was taken off life support. Because there were two deaths involved in the incident, the charges could be amended and enhanced.

Thomas Reed allegedly rear-ended a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff while traveling at 100 mph on the 91 freeway near Imperial Highway last February. Orange County prosecutors initially declined to file charges against Thomas Reed, saying that there was insufficient evidence of a crime. However, the Orange County Register reports that the case was resubmitted by the California Highway Patrol on April 19.

The suspect is now being charged with three misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, driving with a blood-alcohol level more than .08 causing bodily injury, and hit-and-run with injuries. The 23-year-old man will likely need the help of a DUI attorney in Los Angeles or Orange County with the case, but this isn't Thomas Reed's first run-in with the law.

David Hasselhoff's ex-wife, Pamela Bach, was sentenced last week after she pleaded no contest to a DUI charge in Los Angeles Superior Court. Associated Press reports that the celebrity's sentence includes 90 days of jail that she will begin serving in May. This new Pamela Bach DUI should come as no surprise though.

This drunken driving conviction makes the woman a two-time DUI offender. Pamela Bach was arrested for drunk driving in March 2009 and was put on probation. But the woman was arrested for a driving under the influence again in November 2009, which violated her probation. In addition to her DUI charges, Pamela Bach was also charged with a misdemeanor after a hit-and-run incident in 2007, but the charge was dropped, according to New York Daily News.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge declared a mistrial on Thursday for Will Skett after a jury was deadlocked with a decision. After almost two years, the man's severe DUI case has still made little progress within the courts.

The Contra Costa Times reports that William Skett was a well-known police officer, who was assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department's elite Metropolitan Division, but later put on administrative leave. He was accused of hitting two pedestrians on June 21, 2008 while backing up in a parking lot in his Hummer vehicle while he was under the influence of alcohol. The suspect then allegedly left the scene.

Former Riverside Police Chief Russ Leach pleaded guilty to driving under the influence earlier this month and was sentenced to 30 days' house arrest, three years' probation, $1,700 in fines and alcohol education programs. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Riverside Police Department mishandled the incident in which the former police chief crashed a city-owned car after a night of drinking.

When a person is suspected of DUI, Riverside police are supposed to conduct field sobriety tests, collect physical evidence, and put the person under arrest. But with the case of Russ Leach, the law enforcers allegedly decided to just drive the suspect home. This type of treatment is not supposed to be permitted under the law.