Child Endangerment (Criminal Defense)

April 4, 2015

Sonoma County Jail Repots Man Arrested For 2 DUIs in 2 Days

A 55 year old man was arrested for DUI and booked in to the Sonoma County jail on Friday, March 27, 2015. That man was arrested with a child in his car and booked for drunk diving and suspicion of cruelty to a child. He posted bail on Saturday, Mach 28, 2015, and was released. However, the same man was booked into the jail again on Saturday night following a second arrest for driving under the influence.

Drunk driving with a child in the car often results in California District Attorney Offices, including the Sonoma County DA, charging the driver with child endangerment. If a person is convicted of child endangerment and of DUI, their probation is normally extended from 3 to 4 years and they must attend a 52 week parenting class. An experienced DUI attorney can usually get the child endangerment charge dismissed but a driver may still have to admit an enhancement for having a minor under 14 years of age in the car while driving under the influence. An admission to that enhancement can result in increased jail or alternative work time and attendance at some parenting classes less than 52 weeks in length.
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August 22, 2014

Domestic Violence in Marin City – Chase and Crash

by John Stanko

On Monday, August 18, 2014,the Marin County Sheriff’s Department received a call for a domestic violence incident in Marin City.

On Tuesday, August 19, 2014, a Marin sheriff’s deputy saw the suspect driving in Marin City and a pursuit was initiated. Soon after, a California Highway Patrol officer joined the chase which continued for about a mile.

During the chase the suspect, who had a woman and 4-year-old boy inside his car, crashed into another car, lost control of his car, and crashed near Fred’s Place on Bridgeway in Sausalito. The suspect then got out of his car and fled on foot. Officers chased him onto the roof of Saylor’s where he was arrested.

Three customers at Fred’s Place attempted to jump out of the way of the suspect’s car as he crashed but one was pinned by debris until good samaritan’s were able to free him. He suffered minor injuries.

Police arrested the suspect for grand theft and domestic violence for assaulting the mother of his child on Monday night. He was also arrested for driving without a license, evading a peace officer, cruelty to a child, reckless driving, resisting arrest and committing a felony while out on bail for another felony.
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January 19, 2012

Sonoma County – CHP Arrests 24 for DUI Last Weekend

by John Stanko

The California Highway Patrol arrested 24 drivers for suspected driving under the influence over the Martin Luther King Holiday weekend in Sonoma County.

CHP officers made traffic stops resulting in DUI arrests for speeding and making an illegal left turn. One driver was also arrested for drunk driving after crashing his car on Heather Land in West Sonoma County.

Four children were in the car of one suspected drunk driver and he will likely also be charged with child endangerment by the Sonoma County District Attorney. A conviction for a DUI while having passengers under the age of 14 in the car can result in enhanced penalties including additional jail time. Further, a person convicted of child endangerment will be placed on 4 years of probation and must attend mandatory parenting classes.

A 24 year old man arrested over the weekend was found to be driving without a license and was determined to be on probation. That driver fought with police officers and refused to get out of the police car. He was booked on charges of resisting an officer and violating his probation.
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December 30, 2010

Sonoma County Christmas Weekend DUI Crackdown nets 6

by John Stanko

The Petaluma Police Department reported that officers with Sonoma County’s Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force arrested 80 people on suspicion of driving under the influence from the time they began their special enforcement efforts on December 17 through the Christmas weekend. Also, the CHP indicated that the, the holiday weekend crackdown on drunk driving netted six arrests.

Among those six drunk drivers arrested was 19 year old
Jaime Hernandez of Cloverdale. Mr. Hernandez was stopped around 4:20 p.m. last Saturday on northbound Highway 101 after he was observed swerving several times into the next lane. Mr. Hernandez was driving with his 4 children and was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges of felony child endangerment, drunken driving and driving without a license.

Having a minor under 14 years of age is an enhancement to a DUI charge pursuant to California Vehicle Code section 23572. However, the Sonoma County District Attorney could elect to charge Mr. Hernandez for the Child Endangerment charges on which he was booked. Conviction for felony child endangerment could result in a state prison sentence and mandatory attendance at a parenting class. An enhancement under section 23572 could result in additional jail time as part of any sentence for a DUI conviction.
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March 24, 2010

Marin County woman arrested for DUI with 6 year old in car

by John Stanko

A 46-year-old Woodacre woman was arrested for driving under the influence on Sunday night in San Anselmo.

San Anselmo Police officers got a call around 6:30 p.m. concerning a car being driven erratically. They located the suspected vehicle near the intersection of Red Hill and Sir Francis Drake and effectuated a traffic stop.

The driver was found to have an alleged blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit of .08 percent. She was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment as police officers found a 6-year-old boy in the car with her.

The suspect could be charged with an enhancement, specific to driving under the influence, for having a minor under the age of 14 in the car with her at the time of her arrest. However, the Marin County DA could also elect to charge her with a separate offense for child endangerment which could carry a county jail sentence of up to one year and result her her attending parenting classes if she is convicted.
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March 11, 2010

Marin County Woman who Used her 13 year old as Designated Driver Pleads Guilty to DUI

by John Stanko

A Mill Valley woman who was accused in October 2009 of using her 13-year-old son as a designated driver entered a guilty plea to a DUI and felony drug possession on Monday. Her drug possession charges stemmed from an unrelated earlier arrest.

The woman was arrested on October 4, 2009, after she and her boyfriend had her son drive them home from dinner and drinks so as to avoid another DUI arrest. The couple both had prior drunk driving cases. Shortly after he started driving home from San Anselmo the 13 year old decided he could not continue and stopped the vehicle in the middle of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. San Anselmo police were attracted to the parked vehicle and contacted the involved parties. The woman was subsequently arrested and charged by the Marin County District Attorney with DUI, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and allowing a minor to drive. In exchange for her guilty plea to the DUI the remaining charges were dismissed.

The driver returns to court on April 20, 2010 for sentencing. The sentence she receives will depending on the recency of any prior DUI convictions and will likely include punishment for the drug possession. On a second offense DUI alone she would be facing between ten days to one year in county jail, substantial fines and mandatory attendance at a DUI program. However, a conviction for a felony drug charge can carry punishment ranging from drug treatment or probation which may include county jail time, up to a state prison commitment. Her actual sentence will be based on numerous factors which will usually be discussed and provided to the judge in a pre-sentence report prepared by the Marin County Probation Department.
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