One woman in Colorado was recently accused of driving while under the influence of alcohol. The woman was charged with DUI following a traffic stop that took place on a Friday afternoon. Her recent arrest is her eighth one for charges related to drinking and driving.
Police said when they pulled the 54-year-old woman over at about noon, she was not steady on her feet. The woman also allegedly appeared to be confused and explained to police that she had consumed one pint of vodka. The woman then reportedly told police to simply arrest her after not performing field sobriety tests.
Police said they received a report about the woman shortly after 11:45 a.m., when a teenage former family member contacted police to tell them that the woman had hit her in her face during a disagreement. When they found the woman and attempted to pull her over, it appeared as though she was having trouble operating the vehicle and was unaware that police were trying to stop her. She was reportedly later determined to have a blood alcohol level that was three-and-a-half times the legal limit for driving. The woman now faces charges of felony DUI along with assault and child abuse; six of her previous alcohol-related arrests led to convictions.
The law in Colorado changed in August of 2015 to allow people with three prior DUI convictions to face a felony charge upon their fourth arrests for DUI. This is why the woman’s recent DUI charge is a felony one. The woman has the right to proceed to trial to fight the criminal charges. However, if she is offered a plea deal, she may accept it instead as plea deals sometimes offer the benefit of a lighter sentence than what would be imposed following a finding of guilt at trial.
Source: aspentimes.com, “Aspen woman nabbed for 8th alcohol-related driving offense”, Jason Auslander, Feb. 23, 2016