Gates, New York, a suburb of Rochester, was the scene on Halloween night of more than one strange occurrence. There’s nothing strange, of course, about people being charged with driving while intoxicated, especially when it’s holiday time. Whether it’s New Year’s Eve, Memorial Day, or even Halloween, the roads seem to be populated by more than the usual number of drunk drivers. But the incident in Gates was unusual, for at least two reasons:
- The first involves the fact that the woman was arrested for DWI not once, but twice, within a period of only three hours. The initial stop occurred at about 2:00 a.m., when a police officer says he saw the woman driving without headlights on. For those of you who don’t know, not having your headlights on at night is an invitation to get stopped for suspected DWI. She was taken to police headquarters, where she was apparently booked and was picked up by a friend. Three hours later, she was stopped for a second time, driving on the same road where she was stopped earlier, and charged with her second DWI of the night.
- The second unusual aspect of the case involves the driver’s appearance. At the time of the first stop, the woman was dressed as a zombie, including makeup showing blackened eyes, and multiple lacerations around her face and neck. The zombie “costume” is confirmed by her mug shot. But the second stop revealed an altogether different picture. This time, there was apparently nothing remarkable about the way she looked, her mug shot showing an attractive young woman, perhaps slightly the worse for wear. The zombie look was gone, but police say the presence of alcohol remained.
The officers say that the woman’s BAC at the time of the initial charge was 0.11, and that it had gone down to 0.09 by the time of the later arrest. Nevertheless, both levels were above the legal limit.
Finally, police say that these were the third and fourth DWI arrests for the woman. The previous cases were in 2006 and 2011, but charges in both cases were apparently reduced, allowing her to continue to drive on a valid license.
George Vomvolakis Law Offices
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