Our San Bernardino DUI criminal defense lawyers were interested to see an article on the DUI arrest of a man from Joshua Tree. The High Desert Start reported Jan. 20 that Garrett Kainoa, 33, was arrested the night before for suspected driving under the influence of drugs. Kainoa was in a single-vehicle rollover accident on Twentynine Palms Highway after one of his tires deflated on the road. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, the California Highway Patrol suspected him of driving under the influence of drugs, so they arrested him and booked him into the Morongo Basin Jail.
It's not clear whether the CHP officer had test results showing that Kainoa was using drugs. No drug test or field sobriety test results were reported. Kainoa is on parole from a previous drug possession offense from last October. According to the article, Kainoa was going east on the highway at 60 to 65 mph when his left rear tire began to deflate. Kainoa turned right in a way that the CHP officer said was not safe; the officer attributed that decision to intoxication. The turn caused the SUV Kainoa was driving to spin on the highway toward the shoulder of the road, hit the dirt and overturn. The CHP reminded the newspaper's readers that intoxicated driving is illegal.
As Pomona drunk driving criminal defense attorneys, we wonder whether the officer's reasons for arresting Kainoa would hold up in court. The officer attributed Kainoa's mistaken choice to turn right to intoxication, but intoxication is far from the only reason people make bad decisions behind the wheel. Some drivers would panic if they found themselves dealing with a deflating tire at highway speeds -- and it's easy to make a mistake when panicked. Kainoa might also have genuinely lost control or thought a turn in the opposite direction would help. And if the officer knew he had a past drug possession conviction, that officer might have made an assumption. In the absence of a chemical test showing he was actually intoxicated at that time, Kainoa may be able to fight this charge.
Based in Anaheim, Howard Law, P.C. represents Californians who are charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and related crimes. Although drug DUIs may come with drug possession charges or other narcotics charges, they can actually be easier to defend. The law gives a legal limit for alcohol intoxication, but not for drugs, meaning there's no one threshold for how much of any drug is enough to impair one's driving. In drug DUI cases, our Costa Mesa intoxicated driving criminal defense lawyers can argue that the amount of drugs in the client's system was not enough to cause impairment (and in some cases is quite old -- up to 30 days for marijuana). When there is no chemical test at all, we may be able to get the entire case thrown out.
If you've been charged with driving under the influence, don't wait before you call Howard Law, P.C. for help. To set up a free consultation that could save your driver's license, call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925 or send us an email today.
