A DWI sobriety checkpoint Saturday night in Columbia, MO produced 5 DWI arrests, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.

Approximately 542 drivers on Hwy 763 N at Brown School Road were stopped by Boone County Deputies between shortly before Midnight and 3:00 A.M.. In addition to 5 drivers being arrest for DWI, 16 others were arrested; 3 for driving without a valid license, 7 for driving while suspended or revoked, 5 for liquor law violations and one for possession of marijuana.

Columbia, MO DWI Lawyer – Criminal Defense Attorney

Columbia, MO

Sobriety checkpoint nets 7 DWI arrests

Seven people were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated during a Boone County Sheriff’s Department sobriety checkpoint on southbound Highway 63 near the Route AC exit this weekend.

The department conducted the checkpoint with the assistance of the Hallsville Police Department, the Columbia Police Department, and the University of Missouri Police Department and with the support of the Boone County Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

About 675 vehicles were stopped between 11 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. yesterday and the following actions were taken: Six arrests for driving while intoxicated, alcohol; one arrest for driving while intoxicated, drugs; four arrests for driving with a suspended or revoked license; three arrests for outstanding warrants; two citations issued for no valid driver’s license; and two citations for child restraint violations.

Columbia, Boone County, MO DWI Criminal Defense Lawyer

Man convicted of Missouri DWI “Chronic Offender” is sentenced to 5 years in prison

Jefferson City, MO

A Mid-Missouri man is sentenced to five years in prison for hitting two cars and a house last month.

William Gipson of Ashland pleaded guilty to several charges, including being a DWI chronic offender and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.

Jefferson City police stopped the 28-year-old man at a convenience store a little before midnight on January 2, 2010 after he hit the cars and house while driving within Jefferson City limits.

DWI Legal Help – Missouri Criminal Defense Attorney

Columbia, MO

A 53-year-old Columbia man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of his 11th driving while intoxicated infraction.

Boone County sheriff’s deputies arrested the man near Route B and Oakland Church Road about 5:15 p.m., according to a sheriff’s department news release. Deputies said the suspect was operating a vehicle with a revoked license, and after sobriety tests, he was arrested on suspicion of DWI.

The man’s driving record shows he has received 10 previous DWI convictions and 12 convictions for driving with a revoked license, the sheriff’s department said. He is in the Boone County Jail on $14,500 bond.

Although online court records do not include all 10 of the man’s previous DWI convictions, his drinking problems date back at least 24 years. He was charged as a persistent offender on Oct. 23, 1985, and was issued a five-year sentence, which was suspended in exchange for probation.

To be charged as a persistent offender, the man would have pleaded guilty or been found guilty of two or more DWIs within 10 years before his October 1985 arrest or pleaded guilty or have been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault or assault of a law enforcement officer along with one previous DWI conviction.

He also was convicted of DWI in 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2001, according to online court documents. In December 2008, the man filed a petition for a hearing in Boone County Circuit Court concerning another DWI arrest not noted in court documents. He claimed he did not refuse to take a chemical test and therefore was not arrested legally. He later requested the charge be dismissed.

The man also has been convicted of forgery and passing bad checks and has been sentenced to several years in prison, much of which has been served on probation. In 1995 and 2001, he was ordered to substance abuse treatment programs.

Felony DWI Criminal Defense Attorney – Columbia, MO

Columbia, MO

Four drivers were arrested for driving while intoxicated during a DWI saturation and sobriety checkpoint conducted by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department last weekend.

The saturation began Friday evening in a small portion of northwest Columbia and at a larger portion in rural Boone County north of Columbia, a sheriff’s department news release stated. Ten deputies were focused on identifying and removing impaired drivers from the streets.

The same deputies from the saturation then set up and conducted a sobriety checkpoint at around 1 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Brown School and Providence roads in Columbia, the news release stated. The checkpoint lasted about one hour.

“Checkpoints are late evening activities,” sheriff’s department Major Tom Reddin said. “Generally in large part because that’s when the bars get out.”

During the saturation, 18 traffic stops were conducted before the deputies moved onto the second half of their operation at the sobriety checkpoints, the release stated.

Reddin said the locations of checkpoints are usually decided depending on where there has been a history of impaired driving in a certain area.

“We also have to ask if the location will be able to handle the checkpoint safely,” Reddin said.

About 50 vehicles passed through the checkpoint during its operation, the news release stated. Four people were arrested for driving while intoxicated and there were six other arrests made for other violations, the news release stated. One citation was issued for running a stop sign and 22 verbal warnings were issued for “other various violations.”

Reddin said he was pleased by the effectiveness of the saturation as well as the checkpoint and hopes to keep the practice going.

“We’ve been very proactive in apprehending impaired drivers,” Reddin said. “We’ve been fortunate in the past years to restructure our traffic department through resource allocation and increase the traffic unit.”

The sheriff’s department received a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation Division of Highway Safety that paid for the saturation and checkpoint, the release stated.

Columbia, MO DWI Defense Lawyers

Columbia, MO – Boone County

It is a message that is repeated every year, yet in Boone County the numbers of drivers arrested on charges of Driving While Intoxicated continues to increase at an alarming rate. But it is not only the danger of drunk driving that should make holiday party-goers look for a designated driver, it is also the increasing cost of getting a DWI.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department has led the way with pulling over and arresting impaired drivers. According to Sgt. Brian Leer, the implementation of a Traffic Enforcement Unit in 2005 has paid dividends in highway safety. Keeping impaired drivers off the road is that unit’s key task.

The average number of DWI arrests by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department over a five-year period was just over 47 per year between 1996 and 2000. After the Traffic Enforcement Unit became a part of the department, the number jumped to 195 arrests in 2006, then settled at 132 in 2007 and 147 in 2008 – numbers well ahead of those in the late 1990s. But in the first nine months of 2009 they had made 270 DWI arrests.

“We had a 3-man unit that has increased to four this year as a part of a state grant from MoDot,” Sgt. Leer said. “We have some guys in that unit who are dedicated to identifying impaired drivers and getting them off the road. They are motivated to keeping the roadways safe.”

Leer says that 2009 has been a very productive year for his unit due to their use of DWI checkpoints and saturations.

“It’s not just in Boone County, but around the state,” Leer said. “We want to get the numbers of crashes and deaths down – and they are down. Part of that is due to our enforcement.”

Leer also credits MoDot, highway engineers and other factors, but he is pleased to point to the fact that alcohol related crash deaths in Missouri and across the country are down, leaving little doubt that the increase in DWI arrests is having a positive impact.

The national DUI fatality rates have dropped 7% from 2007-2008, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced last week. LaHood cited “aggressive drunk driving crackdowns by law enforcement groups for the drop,” in a press release.

Leer says that while enforcing DWI laws in a college town means there will be more young drinkers with DWI arrests, his unit has arrested offenders young and old.

“It really runs across the board,” Leer said. Obviously when college is in session we have more young people receiving DWIs, but recently we have seen more young people with higher blood-alcohol-content (BAC). We have had several recently arrested with a BAC over .20 and at that level you are looking at being three-times the legal limit of alcohol in your body.”

Beyond the dangers of driving while impaired, the financial risk of a DWI is significant.

While local insurance agents all assured the Journal that auto insurance rates would increase by as much as 35% for a number of years after a DWI charge. However, it is difficult for insurance agents to provide specific claims as the amount of increase is predicated by the driver’s past driving record and claims, age and even credit rating.

But the increased cost of insurance is only a starting point.

Ashland attorney Jeff Kays provided a sample list of probable costs, charges and fines when you are pulled over and charged with your first DWI.

“It’s very expensive, time-consuming and leaves a long trail on your record,” Kays said. “Mostly, though, driving under the influence is very dangerous.”

Kays said on a first DWI a driver will have attorney fees of $500 to $1,000. The driver’s car is towed and impounded for $75 and a $500 bond will be necessary to get the accused out of jail. The bond is returned, Kays said, but the bondsman will be paid $50.

A first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor is punishable with up to six months of jail time and no more than a $500 fine. “Depending upon the jurisdiction, most of the fine will be suspended and a DWI will pay about $250 with a two-year unsupervised probation period with special conditions – no entering establishment that serves alcohol, no occurpying private motor vehicle under the influence and alcohol education programs.”

Those conditions are an added expense. The SATOP is an assessment of drinking and drug habits and costs $245. An Offender Education Program costs about $100, but can run as much as $815.

First-time DWI offenders also are required to attend a VIP class where they hear from victims what drinking and driving can do to others’ lives. The class costs $35.

Other costs include: Court costs – $118.50; Crime Victim Compensation Fund – $11; Recoupment costs $100-$150 which pays for the costs of a breathalyzer, arrests costs, etc.; SR-22 Insurance form $45 and a license reinstatement fee – $45.

The total cost of working your way through the legal system totals, using Kays’ estimate, $1,574.50

But Kays emphasizes the cost goes beyond just money.

“There is the 90-day license suspension and the first 30 days is a hard walk – no driving at all,” Kays said. “The next 60 days there is limited driving as the privilege can be issued for going to school, work, treatment and court-ordered classes. The reinstatement fee is $45, and the cost of taking a cab, or bumming rides which irritates family and friends for 30 days is priceless.”

Missour Gov. Jay Nixon proposed programs that would support Sgt. Leer’s Traffic Unit’s efforts.

Gov. Nixon said his proposal had bipartisan support, essential for the upcoming legislative session with a Republican-controlled Legislature.

Boone County – Columbia, MO Drunk Driving Criminal Defense Lawyers

Columbia, MO

An effort to stop intoxicated drivers in the Lake of the Woods area Friday night and early Saturday resulted in 12 arrests and nine summonses, including six arrests for DWI.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department conducted the DWI saturation from 11 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release. Deputies stopped about 40 vehicles.

A total of six arrests were made on suspicion of DWI, two on suspicion of driving with a suspended or revoked license, two for outstanding warrants, one on suspicion of endangering the welfare of a child and one on suspicion of adult liquor-law violations, the news release said. Three people were issued summonses for hazardous moving violations and six for non-hazardous moving violations.

Funding for the DWI check came from the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Division of Highway Safety.

Columbia, MO DWI Criminal Defense Attorneys

Columbia, MO

A Columbia man was arrested this weekend for what the Boone County Sheriff’s Department said is his seventh driving while intoxicated infraction.

Jeremy R. Gibbs, 27, of 1659 Wagon Trail Road was arrested on suspicion of felony DWI at 2:46 a.m. Saturday on Grindstone Parkway near Rock Quarry Road, Boone County sheriff’s Detective Tom O’Sullivan said. Deputies noticed Gibbs driving erratically while eastbound on Grindstone Parkway and issued a field sobriety test, he said.

Gibbs failed the sobriety test, O’Sullivan said, and he refused to take a chemical test.

Saturday’s DWI arrest was Gibbs’ second of 2009. He also had two arrests in 2008, one in 2006 and a pair in 2001. He was sentenced to two jail terms totaling 150 days for DWI-related offenses, according to court records. O’Sullivan was unaware of other previous sentencings.

“At what point does this guy become a serious threat to the community?” O’Sullivan said. “Seven DWI arrests in eight years. What is it going to take to stop this guy?”

DWI Lawyers – Columbia, MO

Columbia, MO

The Columbia Police Department might be implementing a new unit with the sole purpose of fighting intoxicated driving.

City Manager Bill Watkins proposed funding for DWI enforcement in a Sept. 8 news release. Funding would go toward a unit of two officers handling only cases of driving while intoxicated. City Council and police department have approved of the unit, which now awaits the approval of the Missouri Department of Transportation to become effective.

“We’re 100 percent supportive of the unit as a department,” CPD spokeswoman Jessie Haden said.

MU students can expect to receive the same treatment as all Columbia citizens when it comes to the new unit.

“If they commit a traffic violation where CPD is patrolling, it ups the chances that someone’s going to catch you,” Haden said.

The new DWI unit will cover the entire city of Columbia. Although a concentration of CPD officers does cover the downtown bar district, the new unit would not stay in these areas specifically. CPD recognizes there are bars and night clubs throughout the Columbia area, as well as parties inside homes and apartments.

“That seems really harsh,” senior Ryan Taylor said. “I know a lot of students who drink and drive, but it will definitely make Columbia safer.”

The unit has the unanimous support of the City Council. Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade said the unit would improve Columbia’s safety.

“DWI is one of the major issues with traffic safety,” Wade said. “The special units we’ve had in the past with special focuses usually work out very well.”

Haden also said despite the number of DWI cases decreasing for the past five years, the CPD still feels this unit will be beneficial. Specified campaigns such as this one have demonstrated great success nationally. Also, Columbia’s smaller efforts to reduce intoxicated driving, such as sober checkpoints, have been successful, she said.

The unit would receive a large amount of funding from the state, leaving little financial burden on Columbia’s citizens, Haden said. A $260,000 grant from MoDOT would pay for almost everything needed by the unit, including salaries, patrol vehicles, equipment and means to pay for gasoline.

“Loopholes are often found in proposals such as these, but that is not the case this time,” Haden said. “So far the only things not covered are handguns, shotguns and Tasers.”

If approved, the unit would officially go into effect Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, though it would take some time after this date to get the program fully up and running. Haden said 75 percent of the program would be paid by the state the next fiscal year, and 50 percent every year thereafter.

“That’s really a good deal,” she said. “It’s a tough budget year and this is really quite a gift that we’ll be able to bring on two more officers.”

The two officers in the DWI unit will not have the same duties as most officers. They would not be answering calls made through the CPD radio, allowing them to fully concentrate on handling DWI offenders.

“The hours when DWIs usually occur are our busiest hours,” Haden said.

Two officers with a successful history of DWI arrests will be assigned to this position, Haden said.

Columbia, MO DWI Attorney

Columbia, MO

An overnight sobriety checkpoint on Old Plank Road resulted in six arrests on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department conducted the check in the 200 block of Old Plank Road between midnight and 3 a.m. About 150 vehicles were checked, and the arrests included five misdemeanor arrests on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, one felony drug arrest, one arrest on suspicion of driving with a suspended license, four arrests on suspicion of liquor law violations, one zero-tolerance violation, three citations for no insurance and one summons for failure to register a motor vehicle.

After the checkpoint closed, deputies returning to the sheriff’s department encountered another speeding motorist, whom they stopped and found to be intoxicated, increasing the total of DWI arrests to six.

DWI Attorney – Columbia, MO