First-time offenses, in general, are treated less seriously than second, third or even fourth offenses. People in Lake Charles who have faced multiple drunk driving offenses probably already know this. However, one Louisiana man could be dealing with far more serious consequences following his most recent DWI arrest.
The 61-year-old man was apparently arrested for his first DWI back in 1983. Since then, police have arrested and charged him for being drunk behind the wheel a total of 11 times. Of those, he has been convicted eight different times. His most recent arrest occurred in mid Jan. 2020.
Police say that they first spotted the driver when the light at an intersection turned green, but he did not start driving. The responding officers asked him to participate in a field sobriety test during a subsequent traffic stop. He allegedly did not do so well on the test and was also slurring his speech. Officers asked him about this and he reportedly told them that he had simply taken a medication for nerve pain. It is not clear whether they performed any testing to determine his blood-alcohol content.
He was ultimately arrested and booked into an area facility where he now faces four charges, including driving while suspended for a prior DWI. A judge set a bond of $11,300. Whether a Lake Charles defendant is facing his or her first, second or additional drunk driving charge, using time wisely is very important. This means that getting started on criminal defense planning sooner rather than later is likely the best option.
