By Morgan Brickley
Richard Niemczyk, a resident of Hanover Park, Ill., was recently arrested for and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, according to The Courier-News.
The DUI charge was Niemczyk’s tenth such charge since 1991.
Niemczyk was arrested following an Oct. 21 incident at a local business, where a store employee reported to police that Niemczyk was acting belligerently while attempting to return merchandise to the store.
Police arrived on the scene, and told Niemczyk not to drive out of the business’ parking lot, determining after some investigation that his license had been revoked.
Niemczyk chose to disobey this directive, which proved to be a bad decision.
Police officers saw Niemczyk drive past them at a nearby intersection, a mere fifteen minutes after leaving the store. Driving a 1994 Ford Econoline van, he was arrested not only for driving with a revoked license, but he was also later charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
A DuPage County Grand Jury recently indicted Niemczyk for aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Because it was his tenth DUI arrest since March of 1991, the charge was upgraded to a Class X felony, which can mean six to thirty years in a state penitentiary, and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
The local police department and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office have, according to The Courier-News, “charged Niemczyk with a Class 1 Felony for aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class 4 Felony for aggravated driving with a revoked license, a Class A Misdemeanor for driving under the Influence of Alcohol and a Class A Misdemeanor for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol with a blood alcohol content of .08 or more.”
Niemczyk is being held on $100,000 bail at the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton, Illinois, after an October 22 bail bond hearing.
The Courier-News report did not mention what merchandise he was attempting to return, or whether the attempt was ultimately successful.
By Morgan Brickley
There are many strange stories involving driving under the influence.
Some are tragic, changing the lives of those involved, while others, like a recent story out of Minnesota, simply boggle the mind.
In the town of Proctor, Minn., a man was stopped for driving drunk after he collided with a parked car, according to the Duluth News Tribune.
The suspect was returning home from the Keyboard Lounge, a bar where he had consumed eight to nine beers.
Unlike many involved in accidents while driving automobiles, Dennis LeRoy Anderson’s vehicle of choice was a supercharged La-Z-Boy reclining armchair.
Nobody was injured in the accident.
Anderson pleaded guilty to DWI in the incident. His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.29 percent. He has a prior DWI conviction on his record. He received a sentence of 180 days in the St. Louis County Jail or at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, and must pay a $2,000 fine.
As a part of his probation, according to the News Tribune, “Anderson must submit to a chemical dependency assessment, follow all recommendations, abstain from alcohol and not-prescribed drugs, be subject to random testing and undergo 30 days of electronic monitoring.”
The recliner was customized to travel with a lawn mower engine controlled by a small steering wheel, a stereo, cup holders, and even headlights. To complete the décor, Anderson placed a National Hot Rod Racing Association sticker on the recliner’s headrest.
The chair can reach speeds up to twenty miles per hour, with some help, presumably, from the included nitrous booster.
Anderson’s La-Z-Boy was seized following the incident, as is common. It is now up for auction. The story itself has gained international coverage.
The Proctor Deputy Police Chief, Troy Foucault, was unprepared for the attention. According to the News Tribune, Foucault said, “Our secretary wasn’t too happy. She said, ‘What have you created?’ I said, ‘I talked to the News Tribune, and all of a sudden it’s a whirlwind.’ ’’
According to Minnesota law, it is a crime to operate a self-propelled motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs. Clearly the interpretation of this law extends to even the most unusual vehicles.
Anderson stated that his trip home in the La-Z-Boy was proceeding as he’d planned it until, “a woman jumped on it and knocked the chair off course.” It was at that point that he struck the parked car. Standers-by probably could have told the wannabe passenger that it was only a one-seater.
By Morgan Brickley
In Salem, Ore., that’s exactly what happened to a man who dialed 9-1-1 to report his stash of pot missing, according to an Associated Press article.
Salem resident Calvin Hoover, 21, made an emergency call from his cell phone while he was driving down the road vomiting.
Hoover claimed that while he was inside a bar, his car was broken into and a jacket, cash and marijuana were stolen.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived, Hoover was arrested on DUI charges. Officials said there is no record of a defense attorney for Hoover.
By Erin K
Many weird circumstances can surround a DUI offense. One’s inhibitions are down and one thing leads to another.
In some instances, people break into establishments or end up stealing, not realizing their actions will be dealt with and there are consequences.
Take 29-year-old Timothy Peare, for example in Bethlehem, Pa. He attempted to steal a tow truck from Saucon Collision hoping to remove his vehicle from an impound.
His vehicle was taken there earlier in the evening. He never actually drove the tow truck off the property, but he had started the vehicle with the intent to help get his car back.
It appears he had a DUI arrest earlier that day and just wanted to get his vehicle.
Now he is faced with more than just a DUI charge. The police are charging Peare with a criminal attempt to steal a vehicle, theft from a vehicle and loitering/prowling at nighttime.
Another instance of a drunk driver , Claud Gipson- Reynolds, stole a fire truck in Sonoma County, Calif. after he got his car stuck in the mud.
He thought it would be a good idea to break into the fire house to at first call a tow truck. When he saw the fire truck the bright idea popped into his head to “borrow” the fire truck to help push his vehicle out of the mud.
But he also got the fire truck stuck in the mud about 20 feet away from his car. He then decided to call a tow truck from the fire truck radio’s engine, but instead of a tow truck coming to his rescue, the highway patrol rolled up to the scene.
Gipson-Reynolds was arrested and spent a night in the “drunk tank.” Later he stated this whole incident helped him to realize he had a drinking problem, and he will think twice before he gets into a car to drink and drive.
Many should think about the DUI penalties and aftermath of their decisions they may face if convicted of DUI.
Sources: The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle
By Erin K
Travis Peterson decided he was too drunk to drive home after attending a Dave Matthew Band Concert. The 19-year-old tried to sleep off his buzz in his car, but was awoken by a state trooped who ordered him to clear the lot.
After Peterson left the lot, just south of Milwaukee, to drive to his house in Dixon, Ill., he was pulled over and arrest for drinking and driving. Peterson was found guilty of DUI and ordered to 60 days in jail.
On Wednesday, July 15, a Wisconsin appeals court ruled in favor of Peterson, commending him for trying to sleep his buzz off instead of driving. The appeals court ruled that the DUI court was wrong not to let Peterson argue police had entrapped him.
“Drinking alcohol to excess, while inadvisable and unhealthy, is not unlawful by itself,” the press reported the appeals court as saying.
Peterson’s age was not addressed by the appeals court.
Source: The Chicago Tribune
By Erin K
On Saturday, July 11, Jonathan Schultz was pulled over near Rising Sun, NC for driving 69 mph in a zone marked for 50 mph.
According to police, when the deputy approached, he smelled alcohol on the man’s breath. The deputy then noticed the man from Newark, Del. was partially exposed, with only a towel covering him below the waist.
Schultz told the police that he had lost his pants and a search of the car didn’t turn up a pair. The 41-year-old is facing DUI charges.
Source: WITN.com
By Erin K
Pennsylvania is working to perfect face scanning technology to use in place of carding people when buying alcohol.
The face scanning kiosk machines will be at local grocery stores and be used by customers looking to buy a bottle of wine. Using your driver’s license, the wine kiosk will use face recognition software to check if the picture matches your face.
It may be possible that a breathalyzer will be added to make sure the customer isn’t too drunk to “match your wine with your meal.”
Originally, the wine kiosks were suppose to be put in stores over the next couple months, but Gov. Ed Rendell has put a hold on the project to make sure the technology will work correctly. The Governor wants to prevent minors from being able to fool the system.
Currently the machines are being used successfully in Japan to monitor beer and cigarette sales.
Source: Digital City
By Erin K
On the morning of June 24, University of Louisiana at Monroe Police pulled over Michele Joseph Jr. for crossing traffic lines while driving and because the rear registration lamps weren’t lit on the vehicle he was driving.
When the officer approached Joseph, 28, smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech. Joseph also did poorly on field sobriety tests.
The police searched the vehicle and found two cups full of alcohol, which Joseph described to the officers as “Long Island Iced Teas.”
Joseph was arrested for driving while intoxicated and traffic charges. According to the affidavit, Joseph’s blood alcohol level was .114%.
Source: The Newsstar.com
By Erin K
Many of us dread work meetings and may need a little pick-me-up to help get us through like a soda or afternoon coffee.
For the most part, the meeting is over in an hour or two and we move on about our day. That was not the case for one Lehigh Valley, Pa. government official.
According to police, elected Plainfield Township Supervisors Chairman Tim Frankenfield passed out drunk at a public meeting with a bottle of whiskey next to him.
Frankenfield, who had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal driving limit of .08%, was taken to the hospital before the meeting was over.
The police cited Frankenfield for public drunkenness. He was fined $119.50 as a penalty.
According to court records, Frankfield was cited for public drunkenness before. In December 2006 he was fined $219.50 for public drunkenness at a liquor store in Lower Nazareth Township.
Source: LA Times
By Erin K
Early on Monday, June 7, the general manager of the Dallas Cowboys new stadium was arrested after allegedly failing a field sobriety test. Jack Hill was found a few blocks from the stadium when he was involved in a minor collision.
The DUI arrest was a few hours after a George Strait concert, the stadium’s inaugural event. No one was injured in the accident, reported the Arlington police, and ironically enough, the other driver appeared at fault for the accident.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is launching an investigation to determine if Hill was intoxicated while at the stadium. If it is determined that he was, there may be fines and a suspension of the news stadium’s liquor license.
If an employee is found intoxicated on a licensed premises, there is a $300 fine and suspension of the company’s license for up to 25 days, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.
Source: Courthouse News Service
