Tag: dui
Conspiracist Alex Jones Arrested In Texas

Conspiracist Alex Jones Arrested In Texas

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Alex Jones, the right-wing radio show host who frequently promotes conspiracy theories, was arrested Tuesday morning by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office in Texas for driving while intoxicated, authorities have said. After the news initially broke about the arrest, an affidavit revealed additional troubling allegations of a “family disturbance” that had been “physical.”

CBS Austin initially reported the news. It said Jones had been released by 4 a.m. on $3,000 bond.

Jones has denied that he was drunk. On his site, InfoWars, an article claimed he had been cleared of the charge by blowing less than .08 on a breathalyzer, but this claim has not been verified. The article claimed Jones was caught in a “countywide dragnet,” citing “police sources.”

The Daily Beast reported:

But an arrest affidavit filed in court paints a different picture. According to the report, Jones’ wife called the sheriff’s department on Monday night to report a “family disturbance” between her and Jones. Jones’ wife added that he had possibly been drinking, according to the report.

“The disturbance now was only verbal but earlier in the day it ‘was physical,’” the affidavit reads.

On the way to Jones’ home, a sheriff’s deputy saw a car matching the description of Jones’ car and pulled him over. Jones had a “strong odor of alcohol coming from his person,” according to the affidavit, and said he had drank a bottle of Sake earlier that night at dinner. The report describes Jones’ eyes as “water and glassy,” with “constricted pupils,” and adds that the host was “excited, talkative, and carefree.”

“Jones stated he and his wife got into an argument while eating dinner and he ended up walking home from the restaurant,” the affidavit reads.

Jones swayed back and forth during the interview, according to the affidavit, and later allegedly failed a “walk and turn” sobriety test.

Jones said he had been “drinking a small amount of sake at a Japanese restaurant.” The article also said he had been driving 45 mph in a 40 mph zone, though again, this is unverified.

Many jurisdictions have a two-fold requirement for a DWI charge: driving while above the legal blood-alcohol limit, or being impaired while driving. Drivers can still be impaired by alcohol in their system even if it falls below the legal limit and can thus be found guilty on DWI charges.

“It was quite the experience to see what was going on in this country and to experience it myself,” Jones said of his experience on the radio show.

Rapper Chief Keef Arrested On DUI Charge

Rapper Chief Keef Arrested On DUI Charge

By Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — Highland Park police arrested the rapper Chief Keef and charged him with driving under the influence, just weeks after he completed court-ordered drug rehab, according to Lake County court records.

Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, was pulled over by police around 12:35 p.m. March 5 for an expired registration, according to Highland Park Deputy Police Chief George Pfutzenreuter.

“During the traffic stop, he showed signs of impairment from drugs,” Pfutzenreuter said. “There was an odor of burnt cannabis about his presence and in his vehicle and some admission of his use.”

After field sobriety tests, Cozart was charged with DUI, as well as driving with a suspended license, operation of an uninsured motor vehicle and expired registration, he said.

Cozart posted a $300 bond the next day and was released from custody, according to the court record. Arraignment is scheduled April 11.

Cozart recently completed a 90-day drug rehabilitation program in California after testing positive for drugs.

During a December court hearing, Judge Earl Hoffenberg told Cozart’s three lawyers during a hearing at the Skokie, Ill., courthouse that he would send the rapper to jail if he fails another drug test.

Photo: Swimfinfan via Flickr

Trial Date Set For Justin Bieber DUI Case

Trial Date Set For Justin Bieber DUI Case

By David Ovalle, The Miami Herald

MIAMI — Pop singer Justin Bieber will go to trial on May 5 for driving under the influence, and so far, prosecutors have not offered a plea deal.

Lawyers agreed on the trial date during a brief hearing on Tuesday at Miami-Dade’s criminal courthouse.

Police arrested Bieber onJan. 23after officers said he was drag racing a Lamborghini on a South Beach residential street. His pal, Khalil Sharieff, also a recording artist, was also arrested and is awaiting trial.

Officers said Bieber admitted to smoking marijuana and taking prescription medication, while a urine test showed he had the drugs in his system. A breath test showed Bieber was not legally drunk.

Miami-Dade prosecutor Daniel Diaz-Balart told Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield that no plea deal has been offered to the Canadian pop star. Defense attorney Roy Black said he will depose witnesses in the case.

The hearing came one day after the celebrity news website TMZ released video of Bieber’s deposition in a South Florida civil case in which he is accused of sending his bodyguard to rough up a photographer.

In the widely viewed video, the troubled singer — who has made headline after headline for his recent antics — appears petulant and standoffish as he answers questions from the plaintiff’s lawyer.

In the criminal case, prosecutors released more than 10 hours of video clips, including Bieber wobbling as he undergoes a sobriety test in the police station, doing push-ups in a cell and urinating for a drug test.

His defense lawyers fought the release of the urinating videos clips. After the media objected, Altfield ordered a black box be placed over his genitalia before the videos were released to the media.

On Tuesday, Black decried the celebrity paparazzi culture — and the public records laws in Florida — that have made Bieber’s life miserable under the scrutiny.

“There is no protection for someone like Justin,” Black told a gaggle of reporters after Tuesday’s hearing.

AFP Photo/Joe Raedle

Kerry Kennedy Trial: Sleep Driving Or Misdemeanor Drugged-Driving?

Kerry Kennedy Trial: Sleep Driving Or Misdemeanor Drugged-Driving?

By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times

Accompanied by a phalanx of celebrity relatives, Kerry Kennedy, human rights activist, former wife of the governor of New York, daughter of a slain senator and niece of a slain president, entered a White Plains, N.Y., courtroom Monday to face misdemeanor charges in a drugged-driving case.

Kennedy’s mother, Ethel Kennedy, 85, walked slowly into the courtroom but had to sit in a wheelchair, according to news reports from the scene. Also there for moral support were Kerry Kennedy’s brothers, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Douglas Kennedy.

It is rare for a misdemeanor driving case to draw media attention, even in celebrity-saturated suburban New York. But Kerry Kennedy’s fame and family ties ensured coverage. She is the president of the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights. She is the daughter of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and niece of President John F. Kennedy, both assassinated.

She is also the ex-wife of Governor Andrew Cuomo. The couple divorced in 2005, before Cuomo became the state’s chief executive.

Kennedy was arrested after her Lexus SUV hit a tractor-trailer on a highway near her home outside New York City on July 13, 2012. She drove to the next exit, where she failed a police test.

Noted defense lawyer Gerald Lefcourt told the six jurors that Kennedy drove erratically because she accidentally took a sleeping pill, zolpidem, instead of her thyroid medication.

“The zolpidem kicks in. It shuts her down. She’s in a state of sleep-driving,” Lefcourt said, according to news reports from the courtroom.

Prosecutor Doreen Lloyd said even if the pill were taken accidentally, Kennedy violated the law “by failing to stop and pull over as she felt the onset of symptoms.”

But Lefcourt said Kennedy never knew what the drug was doing to her. He said the medication “hijacks your ability to make decisions.”

Henry Myers of North Salem testified that he saw Kennedy swerve her car into the tractor-trailer on Interstate 684 and keep driving despite damaging her tire.

“I saw smoke. I figured the car would stop,” he said. When it didn’t, he said, he called 911.

If convicted, Kennedy, 54, faces up to a year in jail.

Photo: abraham.williams via Flickr