Georgia DUI Sweeps Net 4 Dozen in One Night
June 27, 2009, two DUI checkpoints in Georgia patrolled by the University of Georgia police, Athens-Clarke police, and Georgia State Patrol on the second night of AthFest resulted in the arrests of 48 people for DUI in Georgia. An additional 100 citations were given for lesser offenses.
Police also believe that they apprehended a burglary suspect when a keen officer unaffected by the late hour of 3:15 a.m. and, suspiciously late at night, noticed that a man age 39 had large amounts of beer and several cartons of cigarettes along with big packs of lighters. The officer called headquarters to see if there had been any calls for a robbery. Sure enough, there had been a robbery at the QuickSpot located at 840 Hull Road and the stolen items were similar to the ones the officer noticed. A review of the store’s security tape revealed a man that appears to be the suspect throwing a rock through the front door and stealing all the items found in the suspect’s car.
Police had another big score when a 37-year-old Lawrenceville man was arrested for possession of 25 pounds of marijuana. An officer going by the vehicle happened to get a hint of the aroma of marijuana. A drug-sniffing dog working the checkpoints was summoned and verified the officer’s suspicions finding 21 gallon-sized bags of marijuana and a large sum of cash. The suspect was detained and charged with driving without a license and trafficking marijuana.
In a growing national trend, the police have stepped up their efforts to curtail drunk driving on major party nights that vary from region to region or university to university. An even larger number of people were arrested at checkpoints on St. Patrick’s Day when the police arrested 56 people for DUI, and 268 people for other infractions. Police had checkpoints set up on Cinco De Mayo as well but they believe that due to the University of Georgia going through finals, the arrests had a drastic fall off, ending with only 5 DUI arrests that night.
Are the police out on a witch-hunt for any driver and charging them with a DUI? In Georgia, 1688 fatalities were recorded in 2006, 32% of which were alcohol-related. DUI charges carry significantly hefty consequences, not to mention ever-increasing fees which in this troubled economy could help out cities finding it increasingly difficult to balance their budget.
If you find yourself being charged with a DUI in the state of Georgia, skilled Atlanta drunk driving defense lawyers can help you. Do not attempt to fight these types of charges on your own as the consequences are too great.