Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

On Thursday October 29, Milwaukee Democratic Representative Josh Zepnick was arrested for OWI (operating while intoxicated) after he was pulled over for driving through a red light just before 8:30 p.m. According to news reports, it is Zepnick’s first drunk driving offense.

The state lawmaker told the officer who pulled him over that he had consumed five or six beers at a bar. Zepnick allegedly failed field sobriety tests which he submitted to, however he declined a breath test. According to a news article at the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, Zepnick admitted to drinking alcohol. The officer included in the incident report that Zepnick smelled of alcohol, and that his eyes looked as though he had been drinking.

Zepnick’s sister died in 1990 when she was riding her bicycle and was struck by a drunk driver. This is a subject Zepnick discussed in 2009 on the Assembly floor as lawmakers worked to stiffen drunk driving laws. Zepnick was a primary sponsor of a 2009 law signed by then-Governor Jim Doyle.

On Saturday October 24, the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade, which draws crowds of more than 80,000 including fans, alumni, and area residents and is considered a major celebration, abruptly came to an end when a woman driving an Elantra plowed through several barriers and struck a parked motorcycle before barreling into the crowd. It was initially suspected that the driver of the vehicle, 25-year-old Adacia Chambers, was driving under the influence. Chambers is now facing four charges of second-degree murder after four people were killed, and just under 50 injured.

On Sunday, the county’s DA said that Chambers would likely be charged with driving under the influence of drugs. Police believed she was under the influence, but did not believe alcohol was involved. Chambers’ attorney, Tony Coleman, said he did not believe his client was under the influence at all, but instead suffers from a physical or mental illness. Chambers’ family members and boyfriend also said she was sober late Friday and early Saturday when they last saw her, and that they had not seen her consume alcohol.

Coleman told USA Today that during a meeting with his client at the jail following the accident, he was not satisfied at all that he was communicating with a competent individual.

On October 17, a woman was stopped by an Angels Camp police officer due to an expired registration. 51-year-old Denise Aanonson or Merced was driving a Toyota Tacoma when she was pulled over by police at about 4 p.m., according to a recent news article at Mymotherlode.com.

Upon stopping Aanonson, the police officer discovered that she was driving on a suspended license. Although the article did not reveal why her license had been suspended, the officer asked for consent to search the Tacoma, which Aanonson agreed to. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered a .38 caliber revolver and 4.6 grams of methamphetamine.

Aanonson was cited for misdemeanor charges of possessing meth, driving with an expired registration, and driving on a suspended driver’s license. Last year, the voter-passed Proposition 47 made possession of certain drugs in California misdemeanor offenses rather than felonies. However, Aanonson was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm; she was arrested and booked into the Calaveras County Jail.

As every Michigan DUI attorney will tell you, it’s never a good idea to get smart with police when possibly facing criminal charges. Recently, a 38-year-old woman identified herself as ‘Hell on Wheels’ after allegedly striking three parked vehicles on E.B. Saunders Way and hitting three additional vehicles on Magnolia Avenue in Clarksburg.

According to an article at The Exponent Telegram, Amanda Dolores Alleman admitted to Patrol Officer Bill Swiger that she struck the six vehicles. Police allege that a secondary chemical test revealed Alleman’s blood alcohol content was .203, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.