September 2010 Archives

We reported in an earlier blog post that Officer Michael Cruz resigned from his position with the Phoenix Police Department after allegations that he had fondled a female driver in exchange for not arresting her for DUI. Now, more than a year after the incident, the Arizona Republic reports that the ex-officer is no longer authorized to serve as a law enforcement official in Arizona.

A final decision made by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board concluded that having inappropriate sexual contact with a driver that should have been cited for driving under the influence is enough of a reason to ban a person from law enforcement in the state of Arizona. This rule applies even if the sexual contact was consensual.

There's some good news for DUI offenders living in Gilbert. KPHO News reports that city council members unanimously voted to allow convicted drunk drivers to serve part of their jail sentence in their own homes in a house arrest program.

All Gilbert residents that are convicted of DUI must currently do their jail time in Tent City. Yet Gilbert DUI offenders that are sentenced to more than 15 days in jail and meet the qualifications of home detention can now be sent home early and wear a monitored tracking bracelet while on house arrest. The ankle bracelet only allows the offender to be a certain number of feet away from their home.

Phoenix is currently the only city in the state of Arizona that has an outright ban on texting while driving. However, this might soon change because the city of Glendale is now considering a similar ordinance that would mirror that of Phoenix's ban.

The Arizona Republic reports that a draft of Glendale's no texting while driving ordinance has already been presented to the city council. State lawmakers have also been considering some sort of driver text-message ban for a long time.

Many people see underage drinking as a serious problem in Arizona and throughout Maricopa County, especially when minors choose to drink and drive.

The Arizona Republic reports that Mesa police officers recently arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of aggravated DUI on Monday. Apparently the teen is familiar with the criminal process in that he has 12 prior arrests, three of which were for failing to appear in court. At just 17 years of age, police say that the boy has already been convicted of theft of means, possession of drug paraphernalia, extreme DUI, assault, and theft charges.

A driver in Tucson failed to stop at an intersection last week and hit a 19-year-old pedestrian crossing the street in a crosswalk near 1st Avenue and Prince Road. The worst part is that the driver didn't even stop once she hit the pedestrian.

KVOA News reports that the victim of the accident is in critical, but stable condition after being hit by the car. The Tucson Police Department is now conducting a DUI investigation because officers believe that the driver that hit the young woman was impaired at the time of the crash.

The former lawmaker that was running as a Republican candidate in the House seat for District 17 withdrew from the race on September 13, surprising many people in the Tempe and Scottsdale community.

The Arizona Capital Times reported that Steve May issued a written statement last Monday about the termination of his campaign. His statement didn't give specific reasons for the withdrawal, but wrote that he was not personally ready to hold office once again.

At this point, there's not much of a secret when it comes to state House of Representative candidate Steve May's DUI. The Arizona Republic reports that the man was convicted of driving under the influence in June 2009 and was sentenced to 10 days in jail along with three years of probation.

As a former state legislator for the Republican party, Steve May is now running for a House seat in District 17, the district representing Tempe and south Scottsdale. He is challenging incumbent Ed Ableser for the house seat.

Underage drinking in the city of Tempe doesn't seem to be too uncommon in the college town known for its party scene. Yet the Arizona Republic reports that the Tempe Police Department and Arizona State University Police Department have recently taken new measures to crack down on people under the age of 21 that are consuming alcohol.

One approach that officers took to enforce the state's underage drinking laws was a crackdown on Tempe apartment complexes that are generally considered student housing. From August 20 to September 4, officers with the two departments targeted 13 apartment complexes and busted people at these complexes for underage alcohol consumption. This operation was part of Tempe's "Back to School" campaign.

Edmonton Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin hit media headlines last February when he was arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI in Scottsdale. Yet the hockey player's name is now being thrown around once again since he was sentenced to 30 days in jail over the incident last week.

The Toronto Sun reports that a Scottsdale judge also sentenced Nikolai Khabibulin to complete an alcohol-education program and pay fines of more than $1,500 in addition to spending 30 days behind bars. But will the hockey player follow through with this sentence?

It's time to celebrate the end of summer this Labor Day weekend. But before you decide to drive after chugging beers and sipping cocktails, you should be aware that law enforcers throughout the state will be on the lookout for drunk drivers with AZ DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols.

The Arizona Republic reports that the Pinal County Regional DUI Task Force will be conducting patrols starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and will continue until Monday. The Phoenix News Times reported that various Phoenix metro law enforcement agencies will be conducting their Annual Labor Day Weekend DUI Task Force this weekend.

People with DUI warrants in the town of Surprise may want to be on the lookout for law enforcers when they're in their homes this week. According to ABC News, the Surprise Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety are conducting a search for surprise residents with outstanding DUI warrants.

The search began yesterday and will continue until the weekend, where authorities are visiting the homes and businesses of those with outstanding warrants for driving under the influence charges. As of Tuesday, there were more than 300 DUI warrants in the town of Surprise.