Tag: dui

HORROR: Illegal Alien with Several DUIs and Deportation Order Kills 8-Year-Old Girl in Fiery SoCal Crash, Multiple Victims Injured

Gavin Newsom’s far-left sanctuary policies have deadly consequences.

An illegal alien took the life of an 8-year-old girl last weekend near San Diego, California, in a deadly collision. He had previous DUIs and was supposed to have been deported in 2023.

25-year-old Bryan Josue Alva-Rodriguez, who is originally from Guatemala, was charged with a DUI, vehicular manslaughter, and murder this past Wednesday.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the collision happened in the afternoon on the rural county Highway S-2.

Fox News Reported:

An illegal immigrant previously charged with DUIs and had an outstanding 2023 deportation has been charged in connection with a deadly head-on collision that killed an 8-year-old California girl over the weekend, authorities said.

Bryan Josue Alva-Rodriguez, 25, a Guatemalan citizen, was arraigned in the hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries, Wednesday on murder, vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges, according to California Highway Patrol.

“Now an innocent life has been lost in a tragedy that could have been prevented,” the San Diego office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wrote on X. “An immigration detainer will be placed on Alva as soon as he is formally charged.”

Alva-Rodriguez was driving a Toyota Tacoma and crossed the double yellow line. He hit a Toyota Camry that included three child passengers, ages 8, 5, and 4. All three children were taken to the hospital. The two younger ones, both boys, survived. The girl died from her injuries at the hospital.

Alva-Rodriguez’s truck also hit a Ford F-350 towing a trailer, causing him to flip his own truck, which then caught fire.

Fire authorities were also on the scene to help with the victims. They also had to rescue one person trapped in their vehicle and successfully put out the vehicle fire.

The massive collision resulted in five people being airlifted to the hospital, with four helicopters. The other three injured were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Alva-Rodriguez originally entered the US illegally in 2018 and was taken into custody by the Border Patrol in Calexico, California. According to ICE, he was released after being given a notice to appear before an immigration judge.

While here illegally, he managed to get two DUIs within about 7 months of each other in September 2020 and April 2021. In March of 2023, he was given a deportation order by a judge.

Alva-Rodriguez did not follow the judge’s orders and stayed in the United States.

Keep reading

Minnesota Judge Arrested For DUI… No Charges Yet

A Minnesota judge was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol over the weekend.

According to Crime Watch Minneapolis, Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Renee Lee Worke was arrested in Steele County and released after only 4 hours in the drunk tank.

No charges have been filed yet.

Crime Watch Minneapolis was told the arrest was probable cause Driving While Intoxicated.

No other details about the arrest were immediately available.

Keep reading

Illegal Alien with Two Prior DUI Arrests Kills SoCal High School Student in DUI Hit-and-Run Crash

Earlier this month a drunk driver hit two La Quinta High School students riding their bikes in Southern California near Palm Springs.

One boy survived and the other, identified as 14-year-old Liam Cantu, died of his injuries this week.

The drunk driver, identified as 47-year-old Jose Villegas Orbe, fled the scene after he crashed his vehicle into the two biking boys.

KESQ reported:

Liam Cantu, a 14-year-old La Quinta High School freshman, has died in the hospital after being struck by a drunk driver, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.

Cantu was one of two teens riding their bikes on Highway 111 in La Quinta when a driver, later identified as 47-year-old Jose Villegas Orbe of Palm Springs, fled the scene.

Authorities said the other teen victim has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.

Villegasorbe is now facing charges including vehicular manslaughter, DUI, hit-and-run and probation violation.

It turns out that Villegas Orbe is not a Palm Springs man.

On Friday, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin revealed that Jose Villegas Orbe is an illegal alien

“Jose Abelardo Villegas-Orbe, a Mexican national, is now charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI hit and run causing death after he allegedly killed 14-year-old La Quinta High School freshman student Liam Cantu while he was riding his bike on October 10th. Cantu died in the hospital this week. Police say Villegas-Orbe fled the scene,” Fox News reported.

In 2024, Villegas-Orbe got two DUIs in a span of just three months, but because DUI arrests are misdemeanors, he escaped immigration enforcement.

Keep reading

WILD BODY CAM VIDEO: Arizona Judge Busted Drunk and Urinating in Public, Cops Drag Away Husband — She Resigns in Disgrace

Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Kristyne Schaaf-Olson has resigned in disgrace after being caught urinating in public while heavily intoxicated in Prescott, Arizona.

The incident unfolded in the early hours of October 4, around 1:30 a.m., when witnesses alerted police to the 42-year-old judge squatting in shrubbery with her pants down.

Body camera footage obtained by Fox 10 captured the grotesque scene, with an officer confronting Schaaf-Olson, declaring, “This is disgusting,” and “This is unacceptable.”

The judge was so inebriated she couldn’t even spell her own name, leading the officer to describe her as “useless.”

“She’s useless. She can’t even spell her name,” the officer says.

The drama escalated when her husband, Jason Olson, the parks and recreation manager for the Town of Chino Valley, tried to intervene. He repeatedly ignored officers’ commands to back off and attempted to pull his wife away from questioning.

An officer warned him, “I’m going to f—king throw you on the ground if you resist,” before hauling him into a police cruiser.

Jason Olson was cited for resisting arrest, interfering with a crime scene investigation, and obstruction of government operations.

Schaaf-Olson was cited for urinating or defecating in public.

Just two days after the incident, Schaaf-Olson submitted her resignation to Presiding Judge John Napper, citing “current physical, medical, and family circumstances.”

In her statement, she said, “The Yavapai community deserves and has judges who are steadfast in their commitment to serving Yavapai County, considering current events in my life, I believe it would be difficult to honor this commitment. I have therefore decided to resign.”

Presiding Judge Napper responded, “I respect and appreciate Ms. Schaaf-Olson’s decision to resign. On behalf of the Yavapai County Superior Court, I appreciate the time that Ms. Schaaf-Olson has served our community and her willingness to remain in her position while the Court selects a new Pro Tempore.”

The disgraced judge’s final day on the bench was October 31.

Keep reading

Sanctuary State Illinois: Illegal Alien Accused of Killing GOP Elected Official and His Wife in Fatal Crash

In the sanctuary state of Illinois, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) has attempted to impede federal immigration enforcement, an illegal alien is accused of killing a Republican elected official and his wife in Coles County.

Police say that 34-year-old illegal alien Edwin Pacheco-Meza of Honduras was driving a van on Oct. 24 when he crossed the center lane and struck 71-year-old Michael Clayton and his wife, 66-year-old Gail Clayton — killing them instantly.

Michael Clayton was a Republican elected official who served on the Coles County Board.

“Mike and Gail were a team in every sense. Together, they lived their lives with strong values, unwavering love for family, and a deep dedication to their hometown,” the couple’s obituary reads:

They believed in supporting the Charleston community and keeping their business local whenever possible. Whether it was groceries, gifts, or meals, they always chose local shops and markets, proudly supporting small businesses and encouraging others to do the same. They were familiar faces at the Charleston Farmer’s Market, always taking time to visit with neighbors and friends.
[Emphasis added]

Pacheco-Meza, who crossed the southern border as an unknown got-away, was in his vehicle with 18-year-old illegal alien Juan Morales-Martinez of Guatemala, who crossed the border in December 2023 and was released into the United States interior by the Biden administration.

The illegal aliens were found with an extended magazine, firearm ammunition, drugs, and an open container of alcohol in their vehicle, police say.

Pacheco-Meza was charged with reckless homicide and drunk driving, while Morales-Martinez was charged with drug possession and weapons violations.

After they were arrested, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged detainers against the illegal aliens, seeking custody of them, but the detainers were ignored by the Clark County Jail thanks to Pritzker’s sanctuary state policy.

Still, ICE agents waited for Morales-Martinez to be released from jail and arrested him outside of the jail. Pacheco-Meza remains in Clark County Jail.

Keep reading

Maryland Police Get ‘Overwhelming’ Number Of Volunteers To Smoke Marijuana And Eat Free Lunch At DUI Training For Officers

Police in Ocean City, Maryland say they received an “overwhelming” number people who want to volunteer to smoke marijuana and drive a vehicle in a controlled setting for DUI recognition training purposes—with the added promise of a free lunch for participants.

Just seven hours after the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) posted on Facebook that they were soliciting volunteers for the cannabis-impaired driving exercise, the agency on Tuesday followed up by advising the public that they had more than enough sign-ups and would not be accepting additional applications.

The department’s original post said they would be partnering with Cannabis Green Lab for the annual Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO) Zero Deaths DUI Conference. OCPD said it was looking to recruit 12-14 volunteers “to smoke cannabis for educational purposes while officers learn to recognize cannabis impairment.”

“The Green Lab helps both officers and participants better understand the effects and levels of impairment caused by cannabis, all in a safe, controlled setting,” it said.

Participants who are ultimately selected will need to bring their own cannabis to smoke prior to the driving exercise—but OCPD said the department will be providing free lunch to volunteers courtesy of MHSO.

Of course, driving while impaired is illegal in states that have legalized cannabis and in those that still maintain criminalization, so OCPD advised that a shuttle service will be available for participants when the exercise (and lunch time) is over.

“We’ll have about 40 student officers participating, so it’s a great way to help train the next generation of law enforcement safely and responsibly,” the department said.

Marijuana Moment reached out to OCPD for an estimate of how many sign-ups it received prior to closing the application window, but a representative was not immediately available.

Keep reading

Ohio Senate Passes Marijuana DUI Bill Aimed At Protecting Drivers Who Aren’t High Behind The Wheel From Prosecution

The Ohio Senate unanimously passed legislation last week to overhaul the way that prosecutors must prove whether a person was driving under the influence of marijuana.

Ohio, like most the rest of the nation, has liberalized its marijuana laws over the past decade, now allowing recreational and medical use of the drug in a variety of forms.

This has posed a tricky challenge of setting a legal standard that prohibits driving while under the influence of marijuana, while not ensnaring people who are sober on the road but have used the drug in the past few days.

And unlike with alcohol’s well established limit of .08 percent of blood alcohol content as the legal threshold for impaired driving, the science around cannabis concentration in the blood is far murkier. Some people with high concentrations wouldn’t exhibit behavioral signs of impairment, while some people with low concentrations would, studies show.

“The current law allows for the conviction of innocent people, 100 percent straight out,” said Tim Huey in an interview, who lobbied for the bill on behalf of fellow DUI defense attorneys.

What the bill would do for drivers of accused of being high

Senate Bill 55, if agreed to by the Ohio House and the governor, would bring two big changes for people accused of driving while high. For one, it ends prosecutors’ current ability to convict drivers for driving under the influence based solely on the presence of marijuana “metabolites” in a person’s system.

Metabolites are the non-psychoactive byproduct of marijuana produced as the body breaks down (metabolizes) marijuana. Those metabolites can linger in a person’s system as long as 30 days after use, according to researchers and defense attorneys who support the bill.

Instead, police and prosecutors must show the presence of Delta 9-THC, the active ingredient that produces the high sensation.

The legislation also gives people accused of driving while high an opportunity to rebut the evidence against them if a comparatively lower concentration of marijuana is detected in their systems. That’s opposed to the “per se” system in current law, where a positive drug test almost guarantees a conviction.

“Basically right now we’re testing inactive metabolites, mostly through urine, and it’s really not accurate,” said Sen. Nathan Manning, a Lorain County Republican and former prosecutor who has pushed the legal change for years. “The inactive metabolites don’t show impairment, it just shows whether or not you used it [in the past].”

Several sources described the legal thresholds set in the legislation as the product of more art than science, and a compromise between prosecutors and defense attorneys who lobbied the bill.

Keep reading

Pennsylvania Lawmaker Files Bill To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients From DUI Charges

A Pennsylvania lawmaker has reintroduced a bill meant to protect medical marijuana patients from facing DUI charges when there is no proof they are actually impaired behind the wheel.

Rep. Chris Rabb (D) filed the legislation and circulated a cosponsorship memo this week, urging his colleagues to join him in this latest effort to enact the reform.

The memo says that, since the state legalized medical marijuana, many patients have “shared their horror stories about being arrested and convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis without any proof of impairment.”

“That is why this legislation…is being introduced yet again, as the current law must be amended to allow responsible drivers who are also medical cannabis patients to operate a motor vehicle legally,” Raab wrote, emphasizing that the legislation “does not extend to any illegal cannabis use–nor does it protect impaired drivers.”

The bill would amend the current state statute to make it so the presence of cannabis metabolites in a drug test alone could not be used as evidence of impaired driving if the person is a registered medical marijuana patient.

However, that protection would not extend to those who hold a commercial driver’s license.

Keep reading

Arizona Court Says Marijuana Users Must Actually Be Impaired To Be Punished For DUI

The state can’t suspend someone’s driver’s license because they have THC in their bloodstream unless they are actually impaired while behind the wheel, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled, upholding a provision in a marijuana legalization law that voters passed in 2020.

Aaron Kirsten was pulled over for speeding in Sedona in October 2022, and the police officer saw that he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet. Kirsten refused a field sobriety test, but when he did a breathalyzer test, he blew a 0.083, slightly above the legal limit, and he was arrested.

While in custody, Kirsten consented to a blood draw, but the Department of Public Safety’s analysis showed his blood alcohol content was just 0.063, less than the 0.08 maximum BAC allowed under state law.

But DPS also tested Kirsten’s blood for drugs and found he had tetrahydrocannabinol metabolites. As a result, the Arizona Department of Transportation suspended his license for 90 days, citing a state law that bars driving if THC metabolites are present.

At an administrative appeal, Kirsten testified that he hadn’t consumed THC in the 24 hours prior to his arrest, and any effects from the THC he had consumed had long ago passed. A family member who is a nurse and chiropractor also testified on Kirsten’s behalf, telling the administrative law judge that THC metabolites—the compounds that form as the body breaks down a substance—can stay in the blood for weeks after consumption.

But the administrative law judge said it was “irrelevant” whether Kirsten had smoked marijuana within 24 hours of his arrest and sided with ADOT, ruling that the agency didn’t need to prove he was impaired by THC to suspend his license for using it previously.

Kirsten appealed the ruling to the Maricopa County Superior Court, which upheld the administrative judge’s reasoning.

But the appellate court said both got it wrong and effectively ignored voter-created laws that bars the state from punishing drivers who have legally used marijuana products but are not impaired while driving.

Keep reading

A 5th Albuquerque Cop Resigns Amid Widening DWI Corruption Scandal

Another Albuquerque police officer resigned last week amid a widening scandal involving cops who allegedly conspired with a local defense attorney to make drunk driving cases disappear in exchange for payoffs. Joshua Montaño, who had been employed by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) for 19 years, is the fifth officer to quit after being placed on administrative leave. His March 20 resignation letter, which City Desk ABQ obtained through a public records request, sheds light on the extent of the alleged corruption within the APD’s DWI unit, the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation as well as an APD probe.

“When I was put on administrative leave, I thought there would be an opportunity for me to talk to the department about what I knew regarding the FBI’s investigation,” writes Montaño, who missed several scheduled interviews with APD investigators prior to his resignation. “I thought there would be a time [when] I could disclose what I knew from within APD and how the issues I let myself get caught up in within the DWI Unit were generational. I thought there would be a time where I could talk about all the other people who should be on administrative leave as well, but aren’t.”

Montaño says he ultimately decided against cooperating with APD investigators. “In order for me to talk to the City about what I knew,” he writes, “I needed to not be the City’s scapegoat for its own failures.” He complains that Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who has promised to “make sure that we get to the bottom of this” but is himself under investigation for causing a February 17 accident that severely injured a driver whose car he broadsided, “has made it seem like there are just a few bad officers acting on their own.” That is “far from the truth,” Montaño says.

Among other things, the FBI reportedly is investigating claims that officers deliberately missed court dates, resulting in the dismissal of DWI cases. But according to Montaño, “officers all know that our attendance, or non-attendance, at Court is watched over and monitored.” While “I take responsibility for my actions,” he says, the responsibility for the alleged misconduct extends up the chain of command and more than a few years back in time.

Medina “has made numerous public statements concerning APD’s knowledge of the FBI’s investigation of various APD personnel and made commitments to complete parallel investigations,” Montaño’s lawyer, Thomas Grover, writes in a separate letter to the department. “However, as is evident in the investigations of Ofc. Montano, the department responded to the FBI’ s inquiries in a manner that is haphazard at best and artificial at worst.”

Although Montaño wanted to share “his knowledge of how widespread the issues of concern to the FBI are, how far up the supervisory chain they go, and other personnel they involve,” Grover says, he “could not provide such a statement because of the myriad of deficiencies APD plagued its investigations of him, and presumably others, with. From procedural errors concerning notice requirements to police officers, to timeline violations by APD, it seems at every turn, the department could not follow basic practices for internal affairs investigations.”

Keep reading