Torrance 3rd DUI with Refusal; Resolved for Hit & Run Only

Our client, age 54, was coming back from a bar one Sunday afternoon in early January after watching an NFL football game.  He had enjoyed a few beers at the bar.

As he was just one block from home, he somehow managed to sideswipe a parked car and come to a dead stop at the location.  The parked car was parked near a home with an elderly man working in his garage, who heard the crash and ran out to ask our client if he was OK.

As he approached our client, however, our client put his car in reverse and left the scene.

The elderly man jumped on his bicycle and decided to follow our client, but he gave up after about a block.  However, he had memorized our client’s license plate number and called the Torrance Police once he returned home.

The Torrance Police traced the license plate number to our client’s name and address and then went to his home.  According to the police, they noticed our client’s damaged car in the driveway before knocking on the door.

Our client answered the door, but he was wearing different clothing than the witness described.

Police then asked to enter the home and first and foremost gave our client the Miranda warning, advising him that he had the right to remain silent.

This was somewhat unusual, because generally speaking, testimony is not needed to establish the elements for an arrest for DUI.

Police then asked him a series of questions, to which our client remained silent.  One of those questions was whether our client would agree to submit to a breath or blood test to measure the alcohol content in his body.

Eventually, after police received no answers to questions, they arrested our client and took him to the Torrance Police Station, where he was booked on suspicion of DUI and hit and run (Vehicle Code § 20002(a).  Police noted that our client had been previously convicted of DUI in 1993 and 2000, so this would be his third DUI, but first within ten years.  The police eventually secured a warrant and took our client’s blood.  Our client’s BAC was 0.21%.

The client was eventually released from custody and called Greg Hill & Associates a few days later.

The client described the facts of the case and asked Greg many questions about how he expected the case to be proven.  Greg was not able to answer many of the questions, explaining that a great deal of his answers depended on what was written in the police report, but there were some very significant advantages to the client given the facts.

The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates and Greg later appeared in the Torrance Superior Court for the client’s arraignment.  The client was charged with DUI with a refusal, as well as hit and run.  

Greg then looked over the police report and noticed quite a few helpful things for our client which were quite helpful.

Greg then discussed the police report with the Torrance City Prosecutor.  Greg pointed out that the exact time of the collision and the last time our client drove were not stated anywhere.  Yes, there was a time associated with the 911 call, but that was well after our client had reached his home and gone inside his home.  However, the officers did not note in the police report that the hood of our client’s car was warm to the touch, meaning he had recently operated the car. 

More significantly, while the time the police arrived at our client’s home was stated, there was nothing in the report wherein it was established that our client did not drink more alcohol at his home.  

Our client also did not admit to drinking alcohol at all prior to the car accident and if the officers smelled alcohol at his house, it could be because he drank alcohol at his home after he stopped driving.

In other words, any DUI was speculation.

The Torrance City Prosecutor agreed and offered to let our client resolve the case for misdemeanor hit and run instead.  The client would be placed on one year of informal (summary) probation for one year, with an obligation to pay a court fine of $300, plus penalties and assessments, attend 26 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and pay restitution.

While the client grumbled about attending 26 AA meetings, he understood the plea bargain was a compromise, and agreed to its terms, most happy that he avoided a third DUI.