Tampa DUI Lawyer Blog

A Tampa man arrested seven months ago attended another bond hearing this week for his release prior to trial. Judge Thomas Barber ordered that the defendant, Randy Archiquette, continue to remain in jail and denied him bond once again. Archiquette is in jail for 2 separate counts of Tampa DUI manslaughter and 2 separate counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Authorities accuse the defendant of causing four separate vehicle crashes, two of them deadly, within seconds of each other. Police were called after Archiquette's Chevrolet Yukon hit the back end of a tractor trailer and then fled the scene. Another call came into police about the same Yukon smashing into a Crown Victoria town car. The driver of the SUV fled and struck the rear of a Geo causing it to smash into a light pole and then hit a Buick head on at 70 mph. The drivers of the Geo and Buick died instantly.

Florida law considers the crime of DUI manslaughter as the death of any human being, born or unborn, as the result of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This crime is considered a second degree felony and punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

A suspected drunk driver collided with a St. Petersburg police officer this week. The officer, Gregory Shone, came into to help another officer with stopping a Nissan Maxima on the corner of 20 Avenue South and MLK Street. Officer shone had his lights and sirens initiated when the driver, 39-year old Lura Goldsmith, failed to slow and hit the cruiser.

Two passengers, 39-year old female and 5-year old child were also in Goldsmith's vehicle at the time of the crash. The officer, passengers and driver were all transported to Bayfront Medical Center for the treatment of nonlife threatening injuries. Deputies with the St. Petersburg Police later arrested Goldsmith on Tampa criminal charges of Tampa DUI and driving with a suspended license. The defendant has been released from the Pinellas County Jail on $750 bail.

A woman in Land O' Lakes has been arrested on charges of Tampa DUI with her children in her vehicle, aggravated child neglect, driving without a valid driver's license and not possessing a vehicle registration. Officers stopped the defendant, 30-year old Genoveva Amacenda-Velona, for a headlight infraction. During the stop, the police witnessed a half of bottle of opened Cuervo brand tequila in plain sight and lime wedges on the dash.

Amancenda-Velona's two children, ages 7 and 9, were buckled into the passenger seats. The suspect failed roadside sobriety testing and submitted a breathalyzer test. Amancenda-Velona possessed a blood alcohol content of 0.233 and 0.235. This level is almost three times the Florida legal limit for alcohol consumption which is 0.08.

This past spring two women were killed when a drunk driver caused a three car accident during rush hour traffic. However, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department has reported that most alcohol related crashes occur after the bars close, which is between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Hillsborough County leads the State of Florida for DUI arrests, around 6,000 arrests annually.

Investigators have discovered that the majority of alcohol related accidents occur during the weekend nights, Thursdays through early Sunday morning. Crashes occur most often on the following Tampa roadways:

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office considers the prime DUI location in Hyde Park and all of the area bridges are also heavily monitored for DUI activity.

Florida Law considers the crime of DUI a misdemeanor offense, but a conviction can result in serious criminal implications. Offenders can expect a maximum sentence of 6 months behind bars, up to 1 year of probation, fines and additional court costs. Convicted drunk drivers may also lose their driving privileges and ordered to participate in alcohol related counseling and testing.

After five months, the suspect involved in allegedly hitting a 20 year old pedestrian with his vehicle is behind bars. The defendant, 24-year old Joshua Dean West, is accused of driving under the influence and crashing into a bystander on April 20, 2009. West attempted to flee the scene and crashed into two telephone poles before his car came to a stop. The defendant fled on foot, only to be found by a police tracking dog.

The injured victim, 20-year old Andrew Scott Hall, has been at the Bayfront Medical Center since the April crash. The accident left Hall with a crushed pelvis and severed leg. Hall has been forced to undergo several reconstructive surgeries in an effort to heal his injuries. He still is unable to walk and has his elbow held at a 90 degree angle. Hall may be able to leave the hospital in at least 3 weeks.

A Tampa day care operator is facing additional criminal charges for failing to appear in Court on charges of DUI. Officers arrested the defendant, 48-year old Dorothy Ann Sampson-Monroe, on June 10 for alleged drunk driving. On June 17, officers arrested Sampson-Monroe again on unrelated child abuse charges on children ages 3-5 stemming from her daycare.

In late June, a Tampa judge signed a temporary injunction to keep Sampson-Monroe away from children. She has had a lengthy criminal past and has been arrested over a dozen times. She also served two years in prison for drug charges.

The Department of Children and Families normally does not allow convicted felons to receive a daycare license. However, the defendant proved to the agency that she turned her life around. Sampson-Monroe faces serious criminal charges for her crimes. She has not yet posted the $10,000 bond and is currently awaiting her trial inside the Orient Road Jail.

A first time suspected drunk driving offender could receive a maximum sentence of six months in jail, loss of driving privileges, supervised probation, mandatory substance abuse counseling and/or classes and heavy court costs. This is in addition to the strain on personal finances and employment caused by dealing with the Court system.

A man has been charged in the vehicular death of a Brooksville teen. The Hernando County defendant, 38-year old William Curt Brooks, drove his 2007 Mitsubishi westbound on Hexam Road when he crossed over the median into eastbound traffic. He hit a 1992 Nissan Maxima head on. Emergency medics transported the seriously injured victim, 16-year old Jenna Marie Moran, to St. Joseph's hospital. Moran died the following day from her injuries.

Officers have arrested and charged Brooks with DUI manslaughter for the untimely death of the Central High School teen. He remains inside the Hernando County Jail without bond. The State of Florida considers the crime of DUI manslaughter a second degree felony. Brooks faces a maximum sentence of fifteen years behind bars if he is convicted on all charges.

A driver has been arrested on multiple alcohol related charges after injuring a police officer and two paramedics assisting with a traffic accident. The driver, 21-year old Kevin Chaney, lost control of his vehicle on U.S. 19 and collided with a deputy cruiser. The cruiser then slammed into the officer, John Coleman, who was working on a traffic investigation.

The impact of the vehicle into the officer caused him to roll over the hood of his vehicle and then jump a guardrail. Two paramedics were forced to abandon the victims of the initial accident to also jump over the guardrail and avoid being hit.

Chaney possessed a blood alcohol content of .219. This is almost three times the Florida legal limit for alcohol consumption of .08. The Pinellas Park Police charged the defendant with DUI, Driving while License is Suspended or Revoked, Reckless Driving and Leaving the Scene of a Crash with injuries. Chaney has not posted the $6250 bail and is currently awaiting trial inside the Pinellas County Jail.

Two bicyclists were charged with DUI within a span of three hours. A Spring Hill patrol officer noticed three cars ahead of him traveling at a very low rate of speed. The automobiles were trying to avoid a bicyclist, without lights or reflectors that had weaved into traffic.

The officer initiated a stop on the rider. The defendant, 46 year old Oswaldo Darila, failed field sobriety testing and was subsequently arrested. Darila is charged with DUI, refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test and refusal to sign a citation. This is the defendant's fifth arrest for driving under the influence and he was currently serving a sentence on inmate release for the latest DUI conviction.

Three hours later, another officer stopped a bicyclist traveling on Spring Hill Drive. The defendant, Robert Steudl, nearly fell off of the bike when he stopped pedaling. The officer noted that Steudl smelled strongly of alcohol and exhibited signs of impairment. The suspect admitted to police that he rode his bike home because he had too much to drink.

Manatee County Sheriff's Department plans on utilizing the controversial Intoxilyzer 8000 to help with DUI enforcement over the Labor Day weekend. With the help of Sarasota County, the Manatee County Sheriff's Department plans on increasing officer presence on the roadways and hosting DUI checkpoints. The breath test will not be the sole path to determining if a driver is under the influence. Deputies will also incorporate field sobriety tests and a combination of other reports to generate probable cause. Manatee County previously canceled a July scheduled DUI checkpoint after questions regarding the accuracy of the Intoxilyzer 8000 arose.

The Intoxilyzer 8000 has not been approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, only the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Florida law does not require the approval from the U.S. Government. However, judges have ruled that the inaccuracies of breath samples obtained through this machine are inadmissible in Court.

A Largo Police Officer has been arrested and charged with DUI. Arresting officers found the defendant, 45-year old Darren G. Cockeram, passed out behind the wheel of his Dodge truck. A hit and run accident had earlier been reported matching the description of Cockeram's automobile. It was obvious that the truck had suffered body damage as the result of a crash. Largo Police suspect Cockeram's involvement.

Deputies on the scene located an unknown alcoholic substance and a glass of orange juice inside the truck. Officers stated that Cockeram had been so drunk that he fell off a guardrail in which he was sitting while awaiting on the investigation. Cockeram faces charges of driving under the influence. He has been released on $250 bond from the Pinellas County Jail. Florida Highway Patrol is investigating Cockeram's involvement with another hit and run on that evening, however, it occurred out of district. It is unknown what administrative action the Largo Police have taken pending the drunk driving investigation against the officer.