Obstructing or Delaying Arrest Case Dismissed, Newport Beach

Our client moved from Minnesota to California once he graduated from high school. He wanted to get away from his parents, who smothered him with nagging, as well as his town in Minnesota where there seemed to be only dead end jobs.

He arrived in California and had trouble getting a job, but eventually worked in a fast food restaurant. He also had trouble finding a place to rent and slept in his car for a while. He was shocked at how expensive everything was in California.

He made friends with a few people and began to drink while still well under age 21. Before he knew it, he was arrested and convicted for two DUI cases.

In each case, he was represented by the public defender, who did not explain the consequences on his driver's license of a DUI. So, our client continued to drive on his expired license. Our client also complied with no terms of probation whatsoever. A bench warrant for him in each case was issued.

One day in Irvine, our client was stopped after he got out of his car and walked to an ATM machine to withdraw a government payment under COVID-19 relief. Our client was high on cocaine at the time and officers arrested our client there. They then searched his car and found 14 grams of cocaine in seven separate baggies, each weighing two grams. They then looked at his cell phone and found numerous test messages agreeing to buy cocaine from our client.

Since our client was high and was on the verge of an overdose, the Irvine police took our client to the hospital and cited him out from the hospital with a court date in a few months at the Newport Harbor Courthouse. The charge written on the ticket was a violation of Health & Safety Code § 11351, possession of a controlled substance for purposes of sales, a felony.

Our client never appeared in court and a bench warrant was issued. He also never reinstated his driver's license.

About 18 months later, in November of 2021, our client was stopped by the Irvine Police Department again, this time just for being parked in an area known by police as an area of high drug sales. Police asked to search our client's car and our client agreed. Police found several bullet casings in his car that our client had collected because he thought they were "cool." Our client did not even have a gun. Police cited him out for violation of Penal Code § 30305, unlawful possession of ammunition shells. He agreed to appear in the Newport Beach courthouse in about two months.

Police also noted that our client's driver's license was suspended due to the two DUI convictions (and he had not reinstated it) and that the vehicle's registration was expired. Our client also had no insurance on the car, which was very expensive. However, police just informed him of these issues and did not cite him for this.

Our client then never appeared in court on the unlawful possession of ammunition charge and a bench warrant was issued for him.

At about the same time, our client was detained for shoplifting in Irvine and issued a ticket for violation of Penal Code § 484(a) / 488, as well as Penal Code § 148.9(a) when he could not produce identification (his driver's license had been taken away during his first DUI). The client signed a promise to appear in the Newport Beach Courthouse and was then released.

Our client then never appeared in court on the shoplifting case and a bench warrant was issued for him.

Two more years passed without incident and our client had found a decent job finally.

Then one day in 2024, Anaheim Police pulled over our client for an unsafe lane change. Our client could not produce his driver's license and police discovered he had a suspended license from four years earlier. Our client also could not show he had insurance on the car. Due to difficulties in spelling our client's name, police believed our client was attempting to delay or obstruct them, when in fact our client was spelling his name correctly. It was a very long Polish last name with z's and y's and k's. Police therefore arrested him for delaying, obstructing or resisting a police officer under Penal Code § 148.9(a), as well as driving without a valid license (Vehicle Code § 12500) and driving without insurance (Vehicle Code § 16028(a)).

Amazingly, police cited our client out with a promise to appear in the Fullerton Courthouse in about two months.

The client then called Greg Hill & Associates and explained the myriad of cases he had accumulated since coming to California.

Starting with the driver's license issues caused by the two DUI cases, Greg then explained how the client could regain his driver's license through the DMV by enrolling in and completing an approved SB 38 program. Greg gave the client a list of approved SB 38 providers. Greg also explained how he needed to get an SR-22 and insurance and explained the least expensive way to do this, as well as the ignition interlock device (IID) requirements he'd have to meet.

Turning to the four "open cases," including the Fullerton case, Greg and the client then discussed how he might be able to have the bench warrants recalled and avoid time in custody.

The client's parents agreed to retain Greg on just the Fullerton case, although Greg explained to the client what he ought to expect the public defender to negotiate in the 11351, 484 and 30305 cases.

Greg then appeared in the Fullerton courthouse for the client's arraignment, only to learn that the Anaheim City Attorney transferred the case to the Newport Beach courthouse for a hearing on the same day at the client's other cases there.

Greg relayed this information to the client, commenting that Greg would have to work with the public defender on resolving the cases. In the meantime, our client had obtained a California identification card (he could not get a driver's license until he finished the SB 38 program) and he obtained auto insurance (he was driving, but was not supposed to).

Greg then called up the Anaheim City Attorney and as to the Fullerton case, negotiated a dismissal upon showing the Anaheim City Attorney these documents.

The judge in Newport Beach then dismissed the Fullerton case, which made the client quite relieved. He still faced the three cases in Newport, but he knew what to expect and there were no more bench warrants pending and he had a plan to emerge from his tangled legal mess.