San Diego DUI Turns Deadly

A Chevy Blazer slams into a palm tree and the end result is a woman was dies.  Arrested is a man who just four months ago plead guilty to DUI.

Danny Calvin Ruiz, 35, was being held on $1 million bail after the Dana Point wreck. Orange County Superior Court records show Ruiz apparently has a long history with the law: In 1991, he pleaded guilty to robbery and car theft and was sentenced to two years in state prison. In 1995, he was convicted of carjacking and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was also found to be a habitual criminal.

In November 2007, Ruiz was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence and of driving with a blood-alcohol limit above the state’s legal limit of .08. In that case, he pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to five days in jail, ordered to pay a $390 fine, ordered to participate in a three-month “first offender alcohol program,” a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim’s impact panel and placed on three years probation.

But he was arrested again on Saturday, after a truck jumped the curb and hit a tree while heading west on Camino de Estrella, just east of the San Diego Freeway in Dana Point. Ruiz and his passenger, identified as Andrea Gerdon, 33, of Anaheim, were both pinned in the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ruiz suffered moderate to serious injuries and was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange. He was placed under arrest for suspicion of drunken driving, authorities said.

Transportation officials on Monday worked to replace the signal controller on Estrella near the freeway. Stoplights blinked red, while stop signs had been placed in the street. A small memorial of candles was placed at the base of the palm tree the Blazer struck before flipping over.

Roscoe Parrish Picked up in Miami Beach

Roscoe Parrish was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence over the weekend in Miami Beach.

Parrish was stopped at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The Miami native was driving his 2005 Bentley when he was pulled over while driving on MacArthur Causeway.

Parrish was taken into custody at Miami-Dade County jail and released later Saturday on $1,000 bond.

Tons of DUI Checkpoints in CA

If you are thinking about driving your vehicle while under the influential powers of drugs or alcohol, think again. Forces all over California are joining together in an effort to rid the streets of drunken bastard drivers and toss them in the patty wagon.  So get a frickin DD and be smart, you don’t want to kill someone do you?

CSI’s Warrick Pulled Over to Prevent DUI - Yeah.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star Gary Dourdan has been charged with three felony counts of drug possession, Reuters reports. The 41-year-old actor, born Robert Gary Durdin, was charged Wednesday (May 7th) with possession of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy stemming from an April 28th arrest in Palm Springs, California. Police found him asleep in the driver’s seat of a car shortly before dawn, just hours after he attended the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in nearby Indio. Police say the car was parked on the wrong side of the road and Dourdan appeared disoriented and “possibly under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.” A search of the car turned up the three drugs plus various prescription medications and drug paraphernalia.

Dourdan was booked and jailed for about five hours, then released on $5,000 bail. A Riverside County District Attorney’s spokesperson said that under the state’s Proposition 36, the actor will likely avoid jail time if he successfully completes a drug-diversion program should he be convicted. Dourdan is due for arraignment May 28th.

In an email to a friend at Access Hollywood that leaked over the weekend, Dourdan said he’d pulled over to “prevent a DUI.” He also insisted, “The luggage carrying whatever they found was not mine and my tests have been coming back negative.”

Dourdan has portrayed forensics investigator Warwick Brown since CSI signed on eight years ago. He recently announced he was not renewing his contract with the hit CBS drama. His last appearance on CSI airs May 15th.

Watch out San Juan - DUI Sweep Friday May 9th

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting DUI roving patrols in the Cities of San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano on Friday, May 9, 2008, according to a press release. The hours will be from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. The Tri-City DUI teams will target areas that have a high incidence of DUI related arrests and collisions. These roving DUI patrols and checkpoints, scheduled for a later date are part of a grant the Sheriff’s Department received from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety.

The goal of the program is to reduce the rate at which the citizens of Orange County are killed or injured in DUI related collisions. Through implementation of these events, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department hopes to significantly reduce deaths, injuries and property damage in each of our contract cities.

“Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” Orange County Sheriff’s Department Deputies are committed to working hand in hand with their contract city partners in providing a safe environment for the motoring public.

Paris Hiltons Bro Pleads in DUI Case

It looks like Barron Hilton, 18-year old lil bro of Paris Hilton, has taken a cue from Mischa Barton, by pleading “no contest” to charges of drunk driving. Yesterday, we told you about how the forthcoming T.A.T.U. movie star Barton planned to throw herself on the mercy of the court in her drunk driving case, stemming from an arrest in December.

As a result, Mischa Barton, who faced not only a DUI charge but was also slapped with possession of marijuana and driving without a valid license, will only face three years probation and be made to attend some classes on the dangers of excessive drinking.

And now Barron Hilton, who entered his plea of no contest today in a Los Angeles court, will also avoid doing any time, unlike big sis Paris. The younger Hilton will also be on three years probation and in addition to those alcohol education classes, is required to pay a visit to the L.A. County Morgue, which is quickly becoming a celebrity hotspot, as Lindsay Lohan also hung out here for a lil’ bit as part of her DUI sentence.

Aside from the fact that the hotel non-heir (if Grandpa’s decision is final) was drinking underage, he was also found to be driving without a valid license, like Barton. And he allegedly hit another vehicle at some point in the evening.

Regarding fines, Hilton will have to fork over $2000, no biggie. He’ll also face a hearing in June to determine the cost of any property damages he may have caused.

And finally Barron Hilton had his real driver’s license suspended for a year, which means he’ll probably have to use a chauffeur. Of course if he had been doing that on the night of February 12th, this whole mess could’ve been avoided.

Hulk Hogan’s Son Sentenced to 8 Months in Jail

Hulk Hogan’s son, Nick Bollea, has received eight months in the Pinellas County Jail, five years probation and 500 hours of community service. The judge also suspended Bollea’s driver’s license for three years, and mandated that he attend DUI school and advanced defensive driving school. As Judge Philip Federico delivered the sentence, he said that this was not just an accident but a series of conscious choices that led to tragedy.

Authorities say Bollea was racing a friend in August in his father’s sports car when he hit a curb and slammed into a palm tree. The impact critically hurt his friend, John Graziano, who was not wearing a seat belt and now requires a lifetime of care. Nick Bollea entered a no contest plea today.

Edward Graziano took the stand and offered an emotional statement on behalf of his son. He mentioned John’s military honors, his time in the Marines, and wondered why - if Nick thought of John as a brother - then why did he drive so recklessly with him in the car. Nick never wanted to be at the hospital, according to Edward, that it showed on his face, and when he did visit the hospital he would skateboard down the hallways and would shoot dart guns at the hospital. He also spoke of how Nick is a repeat offender and mentioned his past violations, and said the court needs to put a stop to Nick’s careless driving. He wants to see Nick get at least one year in jail, and that anything less will have no impact

John’s sister, Christin Carson, was very emotional on when she took the stand. She spoke about how the state of life that John is in is worse than death, because it plays over and over like a nightmare. She said that Nick has never apologized for what he did and hopes he can understand one day what he has put the family through. Graziano’s girlfriend also made an emotional statement on the stand, and his mother said in her statement that Nick saw speeding as a badge of honor, was bragging about getting sponsors soon, and that he described John’s injuries as a bump on the head.

Dressed in black and wearing a black doo-rag, Hulk Hogan took the stand saying the victim was like part of his family, like another son or brother. According to Hulk Hogan, the victim wrote the Hogans when he was in Iraq, and he’s noticed a change in his son over the past 8 months. Hogan reminded everyone that Bollea is a 17-year-old child, and he will have to live with this experience for the rest of his life, asking that Nick be judged fairly, saying he wanted no preferential treatment for Nick but wanted to make sure that he was not given a harsher punishment because he is the son of a celebrity. Linda Hogan made a short statement, saying that her son is not the same without his best friend, that he never meant to hurt him and would switch places with him if he could.

In his statement, Nick Bollea remained calm and said that he really missed his best friend. He apologized to the victim’s family and said that John Graziano was like a big brother to him. Brooke Hogan cried on the stand and spoke of “both of her brothers, John and Nick.”

Alabama Hopes to Cut Down on DUI’s Memorial Day Weekend

You should expect to see extra police patrols this Memorial Day.

The governor approved more than 73-thousand dollars in grants to enable the city of montgomery and 8 central Alabama counties to increase police patrols during the holiday. The extra patrols will be looking for for speeding, DUI, and seat belt violations.

In addition to Montgomery, the extra patrols will be in Autauga, Bullock, Elmore, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, and Russell Counties. The governor hopes the extra money will help cut down on fatal accidents.

Mischa Barton Pulls Get Out of Jail Card

Word is Mischa Barton will accept a plea deal in her DUI case. Translation: No jail time.

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Another celebrity gets off a DUI with a light knuckle rap?

The former “O.C.” star will probably plead no contest to DUI at her arraignment Thursday in Beverly Hills court, and agree to serve a three-year unsupervised probation term, according to people.com. The operative word here is “unsupervised.”

Barton will also do three months of alcohol ed and scare up the loose change needed to pay a fine of around $1,700.

Apparently, the marijuana possession charge will be dropped, due to the small amount found. Another charge of driving without a license will be reduced to an infraction, according to the source who blabbed to People mag.

Apparently, these kinds of deals are common for first-time offenders. But I bet Paris Hilton is still steamed.

Barton, 22, was popped for suspicion of DUI in West Hollywood on Dec. 27, after deputies saw her car weaving between two lanes of traffic. She also failed to signal when making a turn, another big no-no.

But she’s sure talking like she’s learned her lesson. In fact, she told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show:

“Obviously I’m 100 percent responsible for my actions in this case. I’m really disappointed in myself. I don’t know what to say about it, except that I’m not perfect, and I just don’t ever intend to do something this stupid again.”

Oh, never say never!

Lohan’s Lawyer Blasts USA Today

If you picked up a copy of USA Today on Friday (May 2), you might have been thrown off by a full-page ad with the big, bold headline, “Ignition interlocks — A good idea for,” above the infamous post-DUI-arrest mug shot of Lindsay Lohan. The next line reads, “But a bad idea for us,” over a series of pictures of a happy bride and groom toasting each other, some smiling young adults hoisting their brews and martinis, and three pals clinking beers over a meal.

Full Article Here