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Former Olympian arrested in California for alleged felony DUI
Harrison allegedly was in an accident in which his brother Calvin, who is also an Olympic medalist, was injured. Another driver involved in the car accident reportedly also suffered injuries. Alvin Harrison is facing allegations of felony DUI after the car accident.
Harrison appeared in court and pled not guilty to felony DUI involving bodily injury, DUI while having .08 or more blood alcohol level and misdemeanor driving with a suspended or revoked license. He is being held on $50,000 bail. Police say the license suspension is not related to any prior DUI allegations. Harrison is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
Police claim the star athlete was arrested on April, 7 after he allegedly rear-ended a Ford Expedition on state Highway 73. Police say Harrison was traveling at speeds of 80 to 85 mph before the crash. Law enforcement believes Harrison attempted to make a lane change and clipped the rear-end of a Ford Expedition. The Ford reportedly veered across two lanes before hitting the center divider and rolling over.
Three strikes measure fails in California Assembly Committee
The Assembly proposal was introduced at the urging of the Riverside County district attorney's office after the November death of Riverside Police Officer Ryan Bonaminio. Prosecutors allege that a 45-year-old man killed the police officer after a foot chase through Riverside's Fairmont Park. The man accused of beating and shooting the Riverside officer to death has not yet been tried on charges, but could face the death penalty in the matter if convicted at trial.
The accused reportedly has a prior conviction for battery on a police officer relating to an incident dating back to 1990. The man's prior history reportedly provided the impetus to introduce the new measure in the Assembly. The proposed measure failed on a vote of 3-4 in its first committee test on Tuesday.
The chairman of the panel, Tom Ammiano says he has some "very serious concerns" about the measure. The main concerns center on the impact such a measure may have on the already overcrowded California prison system. The proposal is expected to be reconsidered at a future time.
Man arrested for California DUI at hospital after fatal motorcycle crash
Law enforcement believes the two motorcycles were traveling at a high rate of speed on the 10 freeway. Police say both motorcycles were weaving in and out of traffic before the two bikes collided. Law enforcement claims the motorcycles were traveling eastbound on the 10 freeway when the trailing motorcycle clipped the rear end of the lead motorcycle just west of the 405 freeway.
Both motorcyclists were thrown from their respective bikes at a high rate of speed. The 23-year-old biker on the trailing motorcycle that reportedly ran into the rear end of the lead bike was killed in the accident. The 29-year-old biker on the lead bike suffered serious personal injuries and was transported to UCLA medical Center for treatment.
Law enforcement officials took the 29-year-old man into custody at the hospital. Law enforcement claims the man who survived was intoxicated at the time of the Sunday afternoon motorcycle crash.
Law enforcement closed all eastbound lanes of the 10 freeway and the transition road to the 405 to conduct an investigation of the crash. Police have not yet indicated what charges are expected to be filed in the alleged DUI related fatal accident. An alleged DUI accident involving injuries can lead to felony charges in California.
Stray dog attack leads police to alleged California cultivation site
The incident began around 8:00 in the morning when calls were placed to the police station regarding a stray pit bull trying to attack a leashed dog whose owner was taking the pet for a walk. The dog turned out to be an Argentine Dogo. The dog reportedly lunged at one of the police officers. Law enforcement claims the dog bumped the officer in the chest and tried to bite the officer's face. The officer responded with force, shooting the dog in its head.
The injured dog fled to the backyard of a nearby residence. Police approached the residence to talk to the occupants about the injured animal. Law enforcement claims that during the investigation related to the dog, police uncovered evidence of marijuana at the house.
Two people reportedly were in the house during the contact with police. One of the occupants reportedly admitted responsibility for drugs that were found in the house. Police seized an undisclosed amount of processed marijuana and marijuana plants. The man who police say claimed responsibility for the drugs was arrested on several drug charges.
Soquel area man to face felony DUI charge
A 21-year-old Soquel area man was arrested Friday on a DUI charge that allegedly occurred in November. The 21-year-old had previously appeared in court in February related to the November 18 allegations. The man was undergoing physical therapy for injuries and was previously released with conditions. Law enforcement claims the 21-year-old violated his conditional release and arrested the man Friday.
Authorities claim the 21-year-old was found to have a bag of marijuana and an empty beer can in his room. The judge reportedly had ordered the 21-year-old to abstain from alcohol and drugs as part of his conditions of release at the February court appearance. Prosecutors argued Friday for bail to be set at $100,000 in the felony DUI case. The judge set bail Friday at $75,000. The 21-year-old reportedly posted bond Friday evening and was released from custody.
The current allegations arose related to an incident that allegedly occurred November 18, 2010. Police claim the 21-year-old lost control of his 1991 Toyota pickup truck and crashed into a tree. After the accident, the 21-year-old was charged with DUI. Prosecutors claim the man has a prior accident on his record where two people were killed.
Appellate court vacates guilty plea, remands case
In 2009, a Watsonville man entered a guilty plea to felony gun charges. The 37-year-old man is a Mexican immigrant married to a U.S. citizen. After entering the plea, the man learned that the conviction may lead to deportation. He attempted to withdraw his plea and was denied.
Last year the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in a separate case mandating that a criminal defense attorney has a duty to inform defendants of possible ramifications that a criminal conviction may have on the defendant's immigration status. On March 11, 2011, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Watsonville man's guilty pleas based upon the U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
The 37-year-old man's case has been remanded to the U.S. District Court in San Jose. The man has served nearly the entire balance of a two year prison sentence related to the original plea agreement. He reportedly was scheduled to be released from the sentence on May 10. Now the matter returns to the District Court for determination of whether the case will be retried.
California homeowner faces murder charge after his home burglarized
The 29-year-old homeowner looked outside and saw the stranded motorist lingering in the neighborhood in the early morning hours. The homeowner decided to confront the 20-year-old who the homeowner believed had committed the California burglary.
The homeowner reportedly grabbed an implement that police say may have been an ax before he ventured outside to confront the man he suspected was the burglar. When the homeowner approached the 20-year-old along the street sometime after 3:15 a.m., the 20-year-old reportedly fled. The homeowner allegedly chased after the 20-year-old for roughly a quarter mile. The homeowner is accused of attacking the 20-year-old.
After the incident, the homeowner returned home and called police around 4:30 a.m. Law enforcement arrived in the area and found the 20-year-old dead from trauma to his head. Police questioned the homeowner and later arrested him on suspicion of murder.
The homeowner does not appear to have any criminal history. The allegations in the unfortunate incident appear to involve mistaken identity. Police say that it does not appear that drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident.
Michael Lohan to face California domestic violence charge
Michael Lohan was arrested earlier this week for suspicion of domestic violence related charges. Police reportedly responded to a call regarding a domestic dispute. Lohan was not at the residence when police arrived. The father of Lindsay Lohan reportedly was found walking near the West Hollywood Sheriff's station sometime after police originally responded to the residence.
Lohan denies the allegations that he engaged in domestic violence. He reportedly says that his girlfriend attacked him. He says that he is the victim in the matter and he intends to press charges. He says he was charged merely because she beat him to the police station.
The relationship between the two reportedly has had some struggles as the two have been in an on-again-off-again relationship. If convicted of the current misdemeanor battery charge, Lohan could face up to a year in county jail.
After deputies took Lohan into custody, they began the booking process. Lohan started to experience a medical condition unrelated to the alleged incident. Lohan was taken Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for treatment.
DUI checkpoint smartphone applications draw fire
California law allows for law enforcement to set up DUI checkpoints, if the operation satisfies certain constitutional safeguards. Santa Cruz drunk driving attorneys know the California Supreme Court provided guidance on the specific criteria for law enforcement to follow in setting up a checkpoint in a case called Ingersoll vs. Palmer.
On Monday, USA Today ran a story regarding smartphone applications that alert users of the applications to a variety of law enforcement operations, including DUI checkpoints. Four federal lawmakers raised their objection to the sale of the smartphone applications.
Four U.S. Senators sent a letter Tuesday to Apple, Google and Blackberry asking the companies to stop selling wireless telephone applications that allow users to identify the locations of sobriety checkpoints. One of the applications that the federal senators targeted is an application the "contains a database of DUI checkpoints updated in real time," according to the senator's letter. The senators also cited an application they say has more than 10 million users, which "allows users to alert each other to DUI checkpoints in real time."
Warrants served on alleged marijuana growing operations
Experienced Santa Cruz marijuana cultivation attorneys know that state law allows certain individuals to grow marijuana for medical purposes. It is not uncommon for law enforcement to come to different conclusions in different cases. However, the conclusion law enforcement reaches remains merely an accusation if charges do arise.
The two raids this week in Arcata resulted in only one of the cases leading to charges. On March 14, police served a search warrant at a home and claim they discovered nearly 700 marijuana plants and over two pounds of processed marijuana. Police say they also seized marijuana cultivation equipment in the March 14 raid.
A 36-year-old Arcata man reportedly was placed under arrest and will face charges of possession of marijuana for sale, operating a house for the manufacture of drugs, cultivation of marijuana, transportation of marijuana, possession of concentrated cannabis and possession of psilocybin mushrooms.
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