For the December 2008 holiday season, Monterey County is launching a campaign named “Avoid the 18” anti-drunken driving campaign to combat drivers who choose to drink or intake toxic substances then drive during this holiday season.

DUI arrests are up by an increased 41 percent this year over last year, according to the latest statistics in this field. This past December, three local law enforcement agencies have logged 55 arrests of people on suspicion of drunken driving or other intoxication. This increased tendency to drink and drive has heightened the defense and protection of law enforcement agencies.

In the 2007 holiday season, only 39 people had been arrested at this point in the campaign, said Jan Ford of the California Highway Patrol.

For the two weeks through New Year’s Day, law enforcement agencies operating in this county, along with the California Highway Patrol, will pull extra weekend and holiday enforcement duties during the “Avoid the 18″ DUI crackdown.

“We haven’t had a (DUI-related) fatality in two years,” Ford said. “Having zero fatalities is prettier than any Christmas ornament this holiday season.”

Extra law enforcement traffic patrols are planned for Marina and King City on Dec. 27, and another is planned for Salinas on Dec. 28.

According to the “California Avoid” Web site, drunken driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Nationally, two years ago, nearly 16,000 people died in crashes involving a driver under the influence or motorcycle operator. In California, nearly 1,600 people died in DUI related crashes in the same year.

There are similar “Avoid” campaigns in 40 other of California’s 58 counties. Each of these campaigns are named for the number of participating law enforcement agencies in those counties.

A 34-year-old Fort Myers man was charged with driving under the influence and killing two young children near Fort Myers beach on January 14, 2007. The residing judge of this case decided to delay the outcome of this case until recently.

George Butler, the convicted murderer, pleaded no contest this month to charges related to the accident that killed Jordy Martinez, a 1-year-old, and Jesus Martinez, a 6-year-old. Their older brother, mother, and a friend were also injured in the accident.

This past Friday, Steinbeck listened to three hours of testimony from both families, most of whom cried on the stand. Butler faces 2 years to life in prison based on a calculation of the severity of the injuries and number of charges.

“This is every parent’s worse nightmare,” Assistant State Attorney Marie Doerr told Steinbeck on Monday. “It’s beyond their worst nightmare. We have two children here.”

Butler’s attorney, Sean O’Halloran of Fort Myers, argued that Butler has shown remorse because he’s pleading no contest to the 12 charges he faces instead of going to trial. He also argued that Butler has no prior criminal history.

“The greatest show of his remorse is that he stood up in the face of a life sentence and said, ‘I did it,’” O’Halloran argued. “He’s saying, ‘I’m pleading because I’m guilty and I’m sorry.’ He doesn’t want to put anyone through anything else. He’s done enough to this family.”

Another factor of the case is that Butler suffers from bi-polar disorder and his IQ is 75 - five points higher than what is considered mental retardation. O’Halloran didn’t argue that Butler isn’t guilty, but that Butler should be fairly punished.

Butler’s attorney also urged Steinbeck not to just look at the possible range of sentence without considering this specific case.

“There’s no way it can just be math. And the only way to avoid that is to have the thought and analysis and the job you have to do,” he said. “He’s got to go to prison, I recognize that. But he doesn’t need to go for 30.”

In Juneau, Alaska, a 31-year-old is being sentenced to eight months in jail due to a conviction of drinking and driving.

Mr. Robert Riggs Jr. was sentenced after pleading guilty to a single conviction of drunk driving, which is a felony in Alaska.

A 31-year-old Juneau man has been sentenced to eight months in jail on a drunk driving conviction. He is required to pay $10,000 in fines and is able to serve a 3-year probation rather then a sentence in prison.

When he was arrested on Nov. 30th, the Alaska State Troopers say Riggs’ blood alcohol content at almost four times the legal limit of .08.

In the case of a DWI, two separate cases are triggered in Alaska courts. First, there is a court case, which usually results in punishment that includes many different measures such as jail time, fines, mandatory DWI educational programs, ignition interlock devices, and more. Additionally, every driver arrested for Alaska DWI is subjected to a chemical test to determine legal limit. If they refuse the test or measure above a .08, will be subject to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) case where their license may be taken away.

According to DUI/DWI laws in Alaska…

If the driver has 1 prior DWI or refusal conviction, the revocation period is 1 year, with no opportunity for a limited work permit.

If the driver has 2 prior convictions, the period of the revocation is for 3 years, with no opportunity for a limited work permit.

If the driver has 3 or more DWI convictions, the revocation period is 5 years, with no opportunity for a limited work permit.

If your license is revoked by the DMV, you will need to pay a fee to the DMV, and take any additional testing they require in order to get your driving privileges reinstated. You will also be required to show proof of insurance for a period of 3 years after the revocation period ends. This usually involves increased insurance premiums.

Three Nevada football players were arrested for driving under the influence in a 24-hour period. Then two more were arrested for the same offense in the following months.

According to the Nevada director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving: “They’re not getting it.” “The crime of DUI is pervasive in our society, and that is evidenced by the approximately 300 or more people who are sentenced each month in the Truckee Meadows. For there to be five out of however many there are on a football team is a huge percentage.”

Senior receiver Rocco Bene, 22 at the time, was arrested in the early morning hours on May 23. Senior receiver Mike McCoy, 22, and sophomore defensive back Kenny Viser, 21, were arrested about 24 hours later after both left the same party. Redshirt freshman receiver Shane Anderson, 19, was arrested Nov. 24, and senior center and team captain Dominic Green, 22, was arrested recently on Dec. 12th.

After Bene and Viser were arrested, they pleaded guilty and were accordingly sentenced, and soon after dismissed from the team due to their arrests. Coach Chris Ault said both players had prior violations of team policy.

The other three players were placed on team probation for one year and lost their scholarships. Green also lost his captaincy for the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 30 in Boise, Idaho, against Maryland. The cases on all three are pending.

The other eight Western Athletic Conference football teams have been able to avoid DUI arrests this year. Two teams, Hawaii and Louisiana Tech, had a player arrested for felonies this year, and two others, Boise State and New Mexico State, had a player arrested for misdemeanors.

Stadler, a volunteer for MADD since 1990, is concerned about what’s being done to curb such behavior rather than what’s being done afterward. “It would seem the university is not doing a very good job recruiting people and choosing athletes with a responsible history or they’re not sending them a very strong message or they’re not providing any training for them,” she said. “With the numbers they’re having, it seems they should do some education efforts rather than after the fact.”

In Raleigh, North Carolina, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is strongly urging motorists to slow down. They insist that cooperation with the Patrol and careful, courteous driving will ensure that everyone has a safe holiday season and new year. Last year during the Christmas and New Year holiday week, 27 people were killed and 1,118 people were injured in traffic collisions. The leading cause of those collisions was speed.

State Troopers will be conducting many DWI checkpoints this holiday season. They will also be strictly enforcing the state’s DWI laws. The Patrol will be increasing the number of Troopers on the interstates and heavily trafficked areas. In addition, the Troopers will be especially looking out for motorists and drivers who are carelessly driving and accelerating at excessive speeds that could potentially cause dangerous accidents.

“Holiday travel can be very dangerous on our highways if people don’t obey the laws and use common sense when they travel,” said Colonel Walter J. Wilson, Jr., Patrol Commander. “Drinking and driving do not mix; make the right choice - don’t drink and drive.”

During the holiday season, the Patrol will also be participating in the state’s “Booze It and Lose It” anti-drunk driving campaign and the national Combined Accident Reduction Effort, (C.A.R.E). Sobriety checkpoints are being held throughout the state during the entire week.

This careful watch of the roads will begin on the official 2008 Christmas holiday period which begins Wednesday, December 24th, and ends midnight on Thursday, January 1st.

Of course motorists must be aware of many of the standard practices of the road. The State would also like to remind drivers and passengers to wear seat belts, slow down, and allow plenty of time to get to their destinations. Motorists with cellular phones can report safety hazards to the Highway Patrol by dialing *HP (*47) toll free.

Kevin Michael Jackson was charged with the 2006 traffic death of cyclist Ramon Someros Oberiano. He was sentenced recently to 12 years in prison, but is only required to serve seven of those years.
In April, he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and two counts of driving under the influence with injuries. He also admitted to being intoxicated when he crashed his sedan into 39-year-old Oberiano, who was cycling with a group of friends at the time along Route 1.

Superior Court of Guam Judge Arthur Barcinas suspended three years of Jackson’s sentence, noting the defendant didn’t have a prior criminal history. The judge also gave Jackson credit for time served, trimming about two more years from sentence.

In addition, Jackson was fined $3,000 and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, which the judge said must include speaking to the public about the dangers of driving while drunk. Jackson’s restitution hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2009.

Chief Prosecutor Phil Tydingco told the judge Jackson deserved the higher end of the 5- to 15-year range for the vehicular homicide charge. “This was not a mere accident,” Tydingco said, adding Jackson’s tests showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.13, above the legal limit of 0.08. “Every Christmas, (friends and family) can never forget what the defendant has done to this family. The children will never be able to spend Christmas with their father again.”

Stephanie Taijeron, the girl-friend of Oberiano, testified a gruesome story of how is body was thrown about 10 feet and landed on her and two other cyclists.

“I can never forget that image,” she said in court. “The scars you left were not just physical but psychological as well.”

Jackson’s mother, Cliftonya Ketchup, flew in from Georgia to speak on his behalf. She described her son as “a good kid” who always supported her and his siblings during tough times in their lives.

Cliftonya Ketchup (Jackson’s mother) asked the judge to sentence him fairly. Jackson was a sailor with the USS Frank Cable at the time of the fatal crash, and Ketchup said she was aware that other military personnel have been involved in fatal crashes in recent years.

Jackson will be eligible for parole after he serves two-thirds of his sentence.

Donald R. Roberts, a Delaware prosecutor who is currently on leave from his position pending a drunken driving charge, is now facing accusations of breaking and entering into a Maryland home earlier this month.

“You can’t arrest me, I’m a prosecutor,” claimed Roberts to a Harford County, Md., deputy sheriff who arrested him after finding Roberts in the backyard of a Belair home. At the time, the 52-year-old had his Delaware Deputy Attorney General badge and a “pungent smell of alcohol,” according to Harford County District Court records. His attorney, Joe Hurley, said his client was confused and thought he was going into a house where he had been staying.

“He was going to a place that he was going to be living at, it was late at night, it was very dark,” Hurley said. “As it turns out, the place he intended to go was across the street. Apparently it’s a house that’s not directly on the street and you can’t see it.”

The DUI charges his is facing are connected to an Oct. 19 incident in which the state car he was driving veered off Del. 7, hit two mailboxes then stopped in front of a Bear driveway. Responding officers said they found an empty bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey on the passenger-side floorboard. Roberts had an astonishing level of 0.33 in his system, which is four times the state’s legal level of 0.08, according to court documents. He was then immediately placed on leave from the Attorney General’s Office on October 20.

He continues to collect his pay, which was $92,978 in 2007.

His trial on the October charges is scheduled for Feb. 27 at Justice of the Peace Court 15 in Claymont.

In the new charges, a woman was preparing dinner with her children about 6 p.m. Dec. 4 when she heard the door to the rear gate slam. According to police, she then saw Roberts walk to the rear sliding door and try to open the locked door. He demanded to be let in to this women’s house, with whom he had absolutely no relationship with whatsoever. She then accordingly alerted the authorities.

Roberts allegedly told the woman repeatedly to let him in, but according to police, she did not know him and told him “several times to leave because she was in fear for her safety as well as her children’s safety.”

When he would not leave, the woman called police.

Hurley said Roberts told the woman he was lost and informed her of the address for which he was searching. He then stayed and waited for police to arrive.

“When they did arrive, he did not want to get shot and he did tell them that he was a prosecutor from Delaware,” Hurley said. “He did identify himself so that they would know they’re not dealing with a burglar because they were sheriff’s deputies that came with guns drawn.”

Hurley would not comment on why Roberts was in Bel Air. According to the court document, Roberts’ address is the 4600 block of Little Rock Drive in Penny Hill.

Roberts has been charged with two misdemeanors: fourth-degree burglary theft and trespassing. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 3 in District Court.

Two women were tragically killed last month in Queens. They were pronounced dead after riding in a livery cab that was struck by an SUV whose driver was arrested for suspicion of drunken driving. The accident occurred shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday in the Astoria section of Queens.

Police have report the white Range Rover was speeding when heading west on 31st Avenue when it collided with the cab going south on 34th Street.

The cab’s two passengers, 41-year-old Bessy Velasquez and 30-year-old Panayiota Demetriou, were pronounced dead at Astoria General Hospital. Bessy Velasquez, a 41-year-old livery cab driver for Myrtle Car Service in Brooklyn, New York, was killed on the morning of Sunday, November 16, 2008. An intoxicated SUV driver crashed into the cab she was driving. The SUV driver, Daryush Omar is facing multiple charges, including vehicular manslaughter. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit for driving.1 Velasquez’s passenger, Panayiota Demetriou, was also killed in the crash.2 Velasquez is survived by her two teenage daughters, Bessy and Kimberly.2

Although not much is known about Panayiota Demetriou, Bessy Velasquez resided on Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. She has two daughters who she is survived by: 17-year-old also named Bessy and 14-year-old Kimberley. She is originally from Honduras, and began working for Myrtle Car Service in Brooklyn in 2000. She also worked as a cleaner for JetBlue Airways at LaGuardia Airport.

The residing driver of the Range Rover, 24-year-old Daryush Omar of Plainview, Long Island, was arrested on charges including vehicular manslaughter. He is criminally negligent in homicide and driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. Omar was already facing murder trial for the 2006 beating death of a man outside of a NYC nightclub at the time of the crash.

An intense two-car accident occurred in Newmarket earlier this month on Friday, December 5, 2008. The accident involved a rollover on Route 108 and created a major traffic stall during the afternoon commute on Friday evening. One of the drivers was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Due to the amount of traffic, this accident could have been even more fatal with the large volume of people.

John Turnbull is a fifty six year old man of Lee. He was charged with driving while intoxicated according to official Lieutenant Jeff Simes of the Newmarket Police Department. The official accident occurred just before 4 p.m. on Friday.

According to Lt. Jeff Simes of the Newmarket Police department, the Mitsubishi was driven by forty year old Scott Jordan of West Nottingham. The driver was heading northbound on Route 108 when John Turnbuull of Lee was driving his Honda. As Turnbull was attempting to exit Ash Swamp Road onto Route 108, there was a major collision between the Mitsubishi and the Honda. Turnbull’s Honda proceeded to rollover according to Lt. Jeff Simes. Fortunately, Jardan was not injured in the accident.

Turnbull was transported to Exeter Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Newmarket fire and police crews responded to the scene. The Newmarket Police department assisted with traffic moving along the traffic.

According to Police Chief of Newmarket:“The men and women of the NPD team are dedicated to provide the best possible service to our community and residents. Policing in the new millennium is truly a team effort and requires the cooperation of the community and it’s leaders, other town agencies, and our neighboring law enforcement agencies. The employees of the Newmarket Police Department work hard to enhance our professional relationships and improve the spirit of cooperation with our community members. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need our assistance or to report any suspicious activity. It is with your assistance that we can keep Newmarket a great place to live and to raise a family.”

A Jersey City Police Officer Kevin Freibott, caused a car wreck on the Pulaski Skyway last year that killed a 2-year-old boy and severely injured his mother. He has recently pleaded guilty today to vehicular homicide, assault by auto and DWI.

Freibott, was off-duty at the time. He faces four to 10 year in prison when he is sentenced. He has been suspended without pay and his outstanding bail is $550,000.

He appeared before state Superior Court Judge Peter Vazquez, sitting in Jersey City.If prosecuted for a manslaughter charge, this may mean up to 30 years in prison for the death of the toddler.

Monmouth County property records show a Kevin Freibott as the owner of a home at 36 Delaware Avenue in Middletown. One of three streets in Middletown bearing that name is in the Fairview section, which is served by the Red Bank Post Office.

Freibott transferred to the Jersey City Police Department two years ago after nine years with the Middletown police. He has had a history of motor vehicle infractions, authorities said, including charges for DWI in 1988 and driving with an expired license in 2001.

This is not his first offense. An article in the Nov. 13, 2002 Asbury Park Press (archived, accessible via the Red Bank Public Library database), reported that Freibott had been involved in two accidents in 2001, once while on duty, and that he had been fired by township officials for giving police inaccurate information regarding his license, which had been suspended. A Merit System Board ruling later recommended that Freibott be suspended for six months without pay and reinstated.

As recently as July, 2005, Freibott was working as a patrolman in the township, according to a Press report of an arrest he made in an attempted strong-arm robbery at a drugstore that month.