A 51-year-old man in New York was charged for felony driving while intoxicated on Dec. 18. The man was stopped while he was driving in East Hampton at around 1:14 a.m. According to reports, the man has one prior conviction for drunk driving from 2014, and his driver’s license is still suspended from that incident.
When the recent drunk driving incident occurred, the accused man was traveling northbound on Springs Fireplace Road in a black 2004 Nissan Xterra. East Hampton Town Police say that the man was seen failing to stay right and signal for a left turn before he was pulled over. During the traffic stop, the man was allegedly found to have slurred speech, a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, an unsteady stance and bloodshot eyes. He reportedly failed several standardized field sobriety tests.
The man was accused of driving on a suspended license as well as driving without a required ignition interlock device in his vehicle. His charges included felony DWI with a previous conviction within the past 10 years and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation. Police held the man in custody on a $10,000 cash bail.
A person who has been charged for their second DWI within 10 years could face elevated sentencing if they are convicted. Someone in this position may want to have representation from a criminal defense lawyer. An attorney may look for weaknesses in the prosecution’s case that can be used to dispute the validity of the drunk driving charges. For example, if the only evidence of intoxication is the result of a field sobriety test, an attorney may argue that this evidence is highly subjective and could be faulty.
Source: East Hampton Patch, “Man Facing Felony DWI Charge After Arrest: Police,” Lisa Finn, Dec. 21, 2016
