February 2012 Archives

In April of last year Arizona DUI suspects lost the right to jury trial except for the most hardcore cases. But now Arizona might be restoring the right to jury trial for DUI for all suspects, reports The Newspaper.

Of course, the bill has to be passed by the House and Senate before approval. The bill at issue is House Bill 2284.

The problem with the original bill language was that first-time offenders, even though faced with six-months prison time, were not able to get access to a jury like repeat offenders could.

Obviously, trial lawyers had a problem with that.

Officer Alexander Yegorov is going to make a lot of police head shakes after he was cited for a DUI after hitting a parked car, reports The Assoicated Press. The “drunk cop hits car” jokes should start up any minute, because at the end of the day, Arizonans love irony.

The incident occurred around 3 in the morning. The officer that responded to the crash saw that Alexander Yegorov might be drunk and called the police department. Yegorov is now on paid administrative leave and there is an investigation underway, reports Arizona Daily Star.

Even though it is illegal, because of pop-culture, most people already kind of know that drug users smoke meth using a light bulb. (Maybe blame the show Breaking Bad?) Well, an Arizona DUI led the authorities to a man that had one such bulb in his possession.

The man, Victor Robertson, from Oklahoma, was in our environs and was pulled for Interstate 17 South of Cordes Junction. According to  a report by CBS5, his behavior struck the officers as someone under the influence of drugs. Once his car was searched he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and about $60,000 in cash. The cash was hidden in the car's right fender and the passenger door. The modified meth bulb was underneath the front seat and contained a gram of meth.

A 15-year-old from Mesa was recently arrested on suspicion of being a drunk driver and of crashing into a gas station, reports The Arizona Repbulic.

The teenager, who only has a driver's permit, was in a 2008 Dodge pickup. He smashed it into Zone Gas Station at Val Vista Drive. Currently it is unclear if the Mesa gas station crasher was under the influence of drugs, alcohol, both, or just teen driving.

With underage drinking becoming a significant problem in Arizona, the possibility of the introduction of a beer specifically made for the drinking game "Beer Pong" into the Grand Canyon State may not be the best idea.

Pong Beer, which is marketed as a lite beer specifically made for one of the favorite games of the college-aged crowd, is already available in eight states, and its makers are looking to spread it to more states soon, reports The Consumerist.

Jurors found Gary Lynn Foshee guilty of manslaughter for causing the death of Queen Creek bicyclist Russell Jenkins in 2009, reports The Arizona Republic.

Foshee was accused of striking Jenkins head-on with his car while driving under the influence in the wrong lane of traffic.

In addition to manslaughter, he was also found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and endangerment.

It’s hard to deny that drinking and college typically go together like a fish and water. Despite their connection, should drinking be officially allowed at college sports games?

Three state legislators believe sanctioned drinking at college sporting events should be a reality, and recently introduced legislation allowing alcohol sales at university-sponsored sporting events, reports azfamily.com.

The main motivation behind the bill is reportedly financial, with lawmakers hoping to rake in the dough by selling alcohol at games.

It’s hard not to admit that drinking and college typically go together like a fish and water. Despite their connection, should drinking be officially allowed at college sports games?

Three state legislators believe sanctioned drinking at college sporting events should be a reality and recently introduced legislation allowing alcohol sales at university-sponsored sporting events, reports azfamily.com.

The main motivation behind the bill is reportedly financial, with lawmakers hoping to rake in the dough by selling alcohol at games.

A serious crash Wednesday morning in Tempe near Arizona State University resulted in three people being sent to the hospital in serious condition, reports ABC15 News. Tempe police believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

A pickup truck and a sedan were reportedly involved in the crash that occurred at 2:30 a.m. on Apache Boulevard, according to Tempe Police Department spokeswoman Molly Enright.

The three people injured were reportedly in serious condition; however, they are expected to survive their injuries, according to ABC15.

The total number of Arizona DUI arrests rose for the ninth straight year last year, reports KVOA.com.

Considering there were only 1,229 reported DUI arrests in 2003, the 27,125 DUI arrests reportedly made in 2011 represent a significant increase over the years. In fact, the number represents a big jump from just the previous year of 2010 in which 19,353 DUI arrests were made, according to statistics released by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

A Sells woman was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for a DUI crash that killed a U.S. Border Patrol Agent more than a year ago, reports the Arizona Daily Star.

Angela Mata’s car collided with Agent Michael Gallagher’s pickup truck in September 2010. Gallagher was immediately killed when the pickup rolled from the impact. Mata’s blood-alcohol content was found to be twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to the Daily Star.

We previously reported that members of the Arizona state legislature were starting off the New Year with the ambitious goal of fighting cellphone use in cars. Now, a pair of bills is slowly, but successfully, making its way through the state legislature.

Legislation banning teens from using cellphones in their car for the first six months that they have a license has achieved its first few steps in becoming a law. The Arizona Senate approved the ban last week, reports the Associated Press.

You may be ready for some football this Sunday, but make sure you’re also ready for the DUI task forces protecting the streets from potential drunk drivers.

Super Bowl Sunday, one of the year’s biggest sports events in the country, is also reportedly one of the nation’s most dangerous impaired driving days, according to a press release from car insurance company GEICO.

During the 2010 Super Bowl Sunday, 48 percent of traffic fatalities reportedly were caused by alcohol impairment, according to the Insurance Information Institute.