Fresno Criminal Lawyer Blog

Authorities arrested 10 people on drunk driving charges in Fresno during a DUI checkpoint on Sunday night, according to the Fresno Bee.

A Fresno DUI Defense Attorney should always be called to represent a motorist charged with drunk driving. Proper representation of a DUI case requires defense of a client at both the DMV Administrative Hearing and an aggressive defense of the criminal case. Failure to file for a hearing with the DMV within 10 days will result in the automatic suspension of your license. While aggressively defending your driving rights at the hearing will also allow your defense lawyer to get a good first-look at the criminal case against you.

Cases resulting from arrests at law enforcement road blocks, or "sobriety checkpoints" as they like to call them, are frequently very defensible. Authorities are required to follow strict guidelines in conducting such stops, which can lead to additional legal challenges in the many instances where the guidelines are abused or ignored.

This checkpoint, conducted at Ashlan and Marks avenues, also resulted in the impoundment of 35 vehicles as a result of the DUI arrests and other driver's license violations.

In cases where a defendant failed filed sobriety or breathalyzer examinations, they sometimes think hiring an attorney is not worthwhile. This is simply not true. For starters, field sobriety tests are designed to fail. Motorists often think passing a field sobriety test will permit them to go on their way. This is rarely, if ever, the case. Typically, an officer has already decided to charge you with drunk driving by the time you are asked to perform field sobriety tests. Field sobriety tests are designed to do nothing more than gather evidence of your guilt in the opinion of a law enforcement officer whose job it is to ... gather evidence of your guilt!

Both filed sobriety tests and breathalyzer examinations have strict rules and decades of case law to help ensure at least a bare minimum of fairness. When law enforcement fails to administer the tests in accordance with the rules, a reduction or dismissal of the charges is often possible.

Being convicted of drunk driving can lead to jail time, license suspension, mandatory treatment, skyrocketing insurance premiums and the risk of facing very significant consequences for a repeat offense. Hiring a Fresno DUI defense lawyer is the best step you can take to protect your rights.

Continue reading "Fresno DUI arrests at sobriety checkpoints should always be fought in court" »

A 22-year-old man is facing armed robbery charges in Fresno after authorities say he robbed an ice cream and sandwich shop with a gun and a mask, Fox 26 reported.

Robbery charges are very serious. First- or second-degree robbery can carry a penalty of 5 to 9 years in prison. Multiple charges can carry a life sentence and robbery can also count as a strike conviction. Additionally, the use of a gun can add 10 years to a robbery sentence. Discharging a firearm can add 20 years.

In this case, Clovis police say the man entered the Togo's Baskin Robbins at Clovis and Shaw at about 10:30 p.m. Wearing a mask and armed with a gun, he forced four workers into the freezer and forced the manager to open the safe. He then fled in a red Pontiac with an undisclosed amount of money.

Clovis police report they attempted to stop the car, which resulted in a chase through Sierra and Price. The car then crashed into several parked cars and a telephone pole. The driver fled on foot. After several hours of searching, police were about to give up when the defendant reportedly walked by and was arrested.

He is facing armed robbery and felony evading charges and police say additional weapons charges are possible. No one inside the store was hurt.

Continue reading "Fresno armed robbery charge results from holdup of ice cream parlor " »

Nearly 100 people have been arrested on marijuana charges in the San Joaquin Valley after authorities seized more than 430,000 pot plants, the Fresno Bee reported.

A Fresno defense lawyer experienced in handling drug charges should be called to represent anyone charged with violating California's marijuana laws. The use of marijuana for medical purposes and Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization issue on the November ballot, have led to confusion on the issue.

Growing marijuana is still illegal. Grow operations of any size will still be illegal even if Proposition 19 passes. It would permit growing marijuana for personal use in up to 25 square feet of space -- or about the size of a folding card table.

In many cases, criminal charges involving marijuana in California remain felonies. And even misdemeanor charges can result in a permanent drug conviction on your record, making it hard to hold certain jobs, rent an apartment or qualify for student loans or other forms of financial aid.

In this case, the raid was dubbed Operation Trident and involved close to two dozen law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Park Service. Police also confiscated close the three dozen weapons, cocaine, methamphetamine and more than $1,400 in cash.

The other thing about these massive busts is that the cases are often not very good. Authorities love to make a big splash with lots of arrests and charges and a cool name. But there is really no such thing as "close work" between "two dozen law enforcement agencies." It is not unusual for many of the defendants charged in such large-scale raids to plead to reduced charges. And often times an experienced Fresno defense attorney can succeed in having the charges dismissed long after the authorities have soaked up the media spotlight and are forced to prove their case in court.

Continue reading "Raid highlights need for aggressive representation when facing marijuana charges in Fresno" »

The Mercury News reports that five teenagers have been arrested in the stabbing death of a 17-year-old boy at a birthday party.

In this case, as many as 10 kids are expected to be arrested in connection with the stabbing. A Fresno juvenile defense lawyer should be called in immediately to represent any teenagers arrested in this case. Investigators will likely arrest everyone they can get their hands on, threaten those that don't cooperate with criminal charges, and charge those that do cooperate based on their own statements. Those who failed to stop the stabbing could be blamed for participating in it. In such cases, the criminal charges can be just as serious as the person ultimately charged with the teen's death.

Additionally, these teens could be charged as adults and end up with strikes on their record.

According to the sheriff's department, the boy was stabbed multiple times during an argument among a group of males outside a party for a teen's 15th birthday. About 150 people were in the rural home outside Kerman at the time.

The sheriff said the suspects are gang members and all of them are 15 or 16. The department reports that investigators are searching for five more suspects and additional arrests are possible.

Those facing gang charges in Los Angeles can face increased penalties and will likely face a strike conviction. Authorities use 30 different criteria to determine if a person is involved in a gang, including association with other known gang members.

Being affiliated with a gang through criminal charges can have long-term consequences that follow a teen well into adulthood. The only defense is an aggressive offense.

Continue reading "Fresno juveniles face gang charges after fatal birthday party stabbing" »