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DUI, hit & run + other warrents...

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minnieminnie

Junior Member
My boyfriend, who lives in California, was recently involved in a very serious hit and run accident in which he was hit and the other car fled in the middle of the night. Boyfriend is 23 with a drinking problem for 5 years and as a routine test, the cops breathalyzed him. He blew a .31 but was completely coherent because of his tolerance and was NOT the one who caused the accident (they never caught them). He was arrested for the night and released the next morning. However, we believe he had two warrants out for his arrest already (one for failure to appear for a ticket and one for petty theft from a year or two ago). The cops did not mention the warrants at all. His court date is in a week. his lawyer thinks he can have the charges reduced to reckless driving considering he was not the one who caused the accident. also, apparently in the report his BAC is listed as a 0.8?

- is it normal for the cops to not mention his warrants when they arrested him? I thought that was something they checked for when they processed him in jail. is it possible that they're old enough that they went away? should we be concerned that they will come up in court and he will go to jail because of them?

- with and without the warrants, what are his chances of jail time? he has no other convictions, besides the petty theft and a speeding ticket from many years ago.

- will he be able to serve probation in another state? he in unemployed in California and I would like him to move to my state to live with me and get a job here.
 


Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
He blew a .31 but was completely coherent because of his tolerance
WOW! That's impressive.

Hopefully, he's mentioned his prior warrants to his attorney, allowing him to effectively deal with them if they come up at court. There's nothing worse than being surprised in court.

There's really no guessing what the police may or may not do if they do or do not have information about old warrants.

You may want to wait for him to sober up before taking him in. I really think a long distance relationship with a drunk is the best course of action, if you insist on having a relationship.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
There are others who will give you more specific advice, but, it seems a mistake to assume the other party was solely at fault. There are many reasons why people don't want to stay at the scene of an accident.
 

minnieminnie

Junior Member
Yeah, impressive indeed. the cops tested him 5 times because they just couldn't believe it, and he was completely coherent and functioning and acting completely sober. this happened about two months ago and I took care of him while he went through withdrawals and he has not had a drink since (told him I'd never speak to him again if he didn't get sober, considering he almost died in the accident). I BELIEVE that he mentioned his warrants to his lawyer, and I'm assuming they're bench warrants (I think? I don't know much about legal things, never been in trouble with the law myself, haha).

edit: Oh my gosh, my mistake. I meant to say his report states that he blew a .08! at least, that's what his lawyer said.
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
Tolerance does not imply not impaired. That's not a defense anyhow. .08 is the per se limit. He will be presumed intoxicated. I once had a guy in the ER whose blood draw came back .42 but he was still talking to me. Lesser men would be dead at that BAC.

The report saying he was at least .08 just indicates that he's subject to the DMV revocation of his license without trial. Matters not if it was exactly .08 or .31.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
I would also suggest you insist on him having a complete physical and bloodwork, liver/kidney function tests, etc before you continue this relationship. He might be facing serious medical issues for the remainder of his (shortened) life due to his heavy drinking and you deseve to know about them. If you can appear sober at .31 you have been doing this for a looooooong time.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
My boyfriend, who lives in California, was recently involved in a very serious hit and run accident in which he was hit and the other car fled in the middle of the night. Boyfriend is 23 with a drinking problem for 5 years and as a routine test, the cops breathalyzed him. He blew a .31 but was completely coherent because of his tolerance and was NOT the one who caused the accident (they never caught them).
I doubt it. Because of his extreme tolerance and serious addition, he may have appeared a little less inebriated than his BAC would imply, but at .31 he was quite impaired and at a level where blood alcohol poisoning could cause serious - even fatal - damage.

The cops did not mention the warrants at all. His court date is in a week. his lawyer thinks he can have the charges reduced to reckless driving considering he was not the one who caused the accident. also, apparently in the report his BAC is listed as a 0.8?
At .31 the state is NOT going to give an offer of wet reckless per CVC 23103.5. Won't happen unless your county's DA is soft on DUI and I doubt ANY DA in CA has such a plea policy.

The charge he faces is DUI with a BAC of greater than .08. That is CVC 23152(b). At his BAC he is likley to see jail time even for a first offense.

- is it normal for the cops to not mention his warrants when they arrested him? I thought that was something they checked for when they processed him in jail.
If they did not discover the warrants, if they were not confirmed by the issuing agency, or if they are local warrants in another county and not entered into NCIC/CLETS, then, yes.

is it possible that they're old enough that they went away?
Not likely.

should we be concerned that they will come up in court and he will go to jail because of them?
"We" should be more concerned about his serious alcohol problem because that is going to get him, you. "we" hurt or killed. Or, worse, it could cause the death of another.

"He" might want to be concerned because if the warrants are active and the county where they have been issued is in CA it is likely they will come up. But, maybe it would be a Godsend as it could give him a chance to get clean and sober if he spent a year or so behind bars.

- with and without the warrants, what are his chances of jail time?
Very high.

- will he be able to serve probation in another state?
Maybe. But, I wouldn't count on them permitting this until he has at least successfully completed a part of his probation time here. And it is likely that he will lose his license so he will be a pedestrian in this state or the new one.

he in unemployed in California and I would like him to move to my state to live with me and get a job here.
You sure you want to have an admitted serious alcoholic living with you?
 

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