In 2002 a Sarasota DUI manslaughter conviction resulted in DUI probation rather than a lengthy jail sentence for Elizabeth Stanford. The woman had twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system when she killed a passenger in her car and seriously injured a motorcyclist. The only jail sentence the woman ever served resulted from a violation of her probation for riding an electric scooter. She went to jail for three months in Sarasota County.
North Port police officer Aaron Nick played a role in the harsh three-month sentence for Stanford since he is the son of the person Stanford killed in the car that day. Nick has been keeping tabs on the woman who he felt got off way too easily on the DUI conviction. He has reported Stanford on numerous occasions for DUI probation violations. He pushed a judge for the maximum sentence following her scooter riding incident.
Monthly Archives: September 2010
Lee County Traffic Court News – Only 10% Of People Beat Lee County Speeding Tickets In Court
If you have to go to Lee County traffic court and hope to beat your speeding ticket, you are not going to like the results of a NBC2 investigation. According to a year and a half worth of pouring over traffic court records, the southwest Florida TV station found that Lee County magistrates found people fighting their speeding ticket guilty nearly 90% of the time.
The investigative report published on the station’s website concludes that the likelihood you would beat your Florida traffic citation depends of the violation you were written up for. If you were charged with careless driving in Florida, there is a 25% chance you would be found not guilty or have your charge dropped when facing a Lee County magistrate. That is a much higher percentage than those trying to beat a Lee County speeding ticket.
Clearwater DUI News – Pasco County Woman Involved In Third DUI As She Hits Motorcyclist
The woman who hit a motorcyclist in Clearwater on Saturday was arrested for a third DUI charge in the last four years and will now face a possible Florida DUI jail sentence after sending a 47-year-old man riding a motorcycle to the hospital. Jahnee Martina was arrest for drunk driving in 2007, 2008 and now in 2010. The 23-year-old is a Wesley Chapel resident.
The Woman was involved in a Clearwater DUI car crash on Saturday around 8:00 p.m. According to news reports including a story on TBO.com, police received a call about a 1998 Mazda that was driving erratically. Shortly after that call Martina is accused of colliding with a man riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Matthew Pearson was the rider of the Harley. He was airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center. According to reports he suffered serious injuries but they were not believed to be life-threatening.
Pasco County DUI News – Trinity Man Arrested On DUI Manslaughter Charges In Death Of His Wife
Many couples go out for a Friday night dinner together but for a Pasco County man his date night ended in tragedy and now he is facing DUI manslaughter charges and a severe Florida DUI jail sentence. Philip Billitteri was arrested on Tuesday nearly five months after a car crash that cost his wife her life and he is facing multiple charges related to drunk driving.
Billitteri and his wife ate dinner at Bonefish Grill on a Friday night in April. The restaurant was just a few miles from their Trinity, Florida home. They were returning home from dinner driving on Trinity Boulevard around 7:00 p.m. Billitteri turned into his subdivision and was only three turns away from making it back to the couple’s home safely but before he got the opportunity to make those three turns he turned in front of a pick-up truck that crashed into the side of the car where Sherry Billitteri was sitting. The mother of three was not wearing a seat belt and was taken to Bayfront Medical Center following the crash. She died at the hospital.
Tampa DUI News – Another Tampa Bay High School Official Arrested For DUI Charges
It seems like there have been quite a few high school officials in Tampa arrested for DUI as of late and the trend continued this weekend with a Land O’ Lakes DUI arrest. According to TBo.com, the online website operated by the Tampa Tribune, 45-year-old Douglas Lee Elias was arrested for drunk driving. Elias’ occupation is listed as assistant principal at Gulf High.
The newspaper reports that the assistant principal was in a 1994 Jeep Wrangler when he was stopped by a Pasco deputy after 2:00 a.m. The report says that Elias was swerving and he admitted to officers that he drank two pitchers of beer. At that point a Tampa DUI investigation was launched. Elias reportedly smelled of alcohol and had watery eyes and they were bloodshot. They also claimed Elias slurred his speech and his face was flushed. On top of that the officers described the Gulf High assistant principal as being belligerent, aggressive and arguing with the officers.
Florida DUI News – Brevard County DUI Arrest Lands Assistant Principal In Jail
A Brevard County DUI arrest netted a local assistant principal who was originally pulled over for a speeding ticket. According to a story on the website of Melbourne TV station WFTV, Margaret Spinazzola was arrested on Friday and charged with driving under the influence.
The incident occurred before 1:00 a.m. on Dairy Road. According to reports the Brevard County assistant principal was driving upwards of 60 MPH in a 40 MPH zone. Her vehicle was swerving and police claim they could tell things were not right with Spinazzola the moment they approached her car. The officers reported seeing standard signs of impairment like slurred speech and eyes that were red. They also say that there was a strong smell of alcohol which led to her Florida DUI arrest.
Pinellas DUI News – Deadly DUI Crash Brings Alcoholic Energy Drinks In To The Spotlight
A recent Pinellas DUI crash that took the lives of four Orlando men has brought attention to the dangers of drinking and driving when it comes to alcoholic energy drinks. These alcoholic beverages came to the media’s attention after Demetrius Jordan ran a red light and slammed into a car carrying Elroy McConnell and his three sons. All four men died and police found a can of a drink called Four Loko in Jordan’s car.
Jordan is facing four counts of DUI manslaughter and DUI with serious bodily injury. He was also charged with possession of alcohol by a minor as he is just 20-years-old. That has not only raised the awareness of energy drinks but also the way they are marketed and if the companies are targeting underage drinkers for their products.
Florida DUI News – FHP Looking For Drunk Drivers And Other Traffic Law Offenders Labor Day Weekend
If you are planning on breaking any Florida traffic laws especially the ones surrounding drunk driving in Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol will be looking for you this Labor Day weekend. The FHP is planning on saturating Florida roads and highways this weekend in hopes of keeping drivers all over the state of Florida safe as they travel this holiday weekend. Combine Labor Day with two home football games in Tallahassee and Gainesville and there is the potential for a busy three-day weekend on Florida highways.
The FHP is joining with what the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel is thousands of other law enforcement agencies to beef up patrols through Monday. According to the FHP they issued a Florida traffic citation approximately 16,000 times last Labor Day weekend and on top of that there were 136 arrests of drunk drivers or impaired drivers. Last year there were a reported 23 traffic fatalities over the holiday weekend which was a third less than the amount in 2008.
DUI News – Open Container Laws First And Now Stiffer DUI Penalties May Finally Be Coming To Montana
For most of us in Florida the idea of driving around with an open container of alcohol in our cars is nothing more than a Florida DUI arrest waiting to happen. It has been many years since Floridians could drive around town with an open can of beer or a drink in a plastic cup. That isn’t the case in Montana though. Up until 2005 it was still legal to drink and drive in Montana despite the fact that Montana ranked near the top of per capita drunk driving deaths.
A recent DUI crash that took the life of a highway patrolman might finally be the catalyst for Montana to catch up with the rest of the nation when it comes to DUI penalties. According to an article on Fox News’ website, Montana’s anti-government attitude, lack of public transportation, isolated roads and a saloon era mentality toward drinking has added up to a deadly combination as far as drinking and driving is concerned. It is still common to see bars offer to go cups to patrons before they hit the road.