System Failure (NM's Revolving door DWI system)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | April 4, 2010 | Vic Vela

[CedarDave]

SANTA FE — The system didn't work.

If it had, James Ruiz might well have been behind bars the night of March 5 instead of driving a friend's Ford F-250 pickup truck on Cerrillos Road. And teenage sisters Deshauna and Del Lynn Peshlakai would still be alive.

Instead, Ruiz's 15-year history of heavy drinking and driving — and the way he skated with minimal penalties so many times — make him a poster boy for how the system failed.

A Journal investigation of Ruiz's arrests shows a trail that wound through a number of New Mexico courts. It also reveals:

• Confusion over interpretation of state law, allowing some judges to impose what one prosecutor called "fictional probation."
• Miscommunication among police, courts, prosecutors and the Motor Vehicle Department.
• Missing paperwork crucial for later prosecutions.
• Cases that were either plea bargained down or in which Ruiz faced lesser charges.
• Warrants issued in one county, but without jurisdiction statewide.

The end result: Ruiz's running total of DWI offenses remained artificially low, helping him avoid felony counts and reducing his sentences. Despite four DWI convictions since 1995, he has spent little time behind bars.

And at the time of last month's fatal crash, he was out on bond for his fifth DWI arrest, which was charged as another misdemeanor. Authorities now agree it should have been treated as a felony, which could have had an impact on the status of his case — and his freedom.

Now, Ruiz is in the Santa Fe County jail on a $2 million cash-only bond, facing vehicular homicide charges after he plowed into the car carrying the Peshlakai family last month.

[healy61]

I know of a case where the defendant was before the Court for a 12th DUI. The prosecutor moved to dismiss the charge outright, and then tried to inform the Judge that since the prosecutor and defense attorney agreed to the dismissal, the Judged had no authority to reject the agreement. The Judge said nothing doing. So the prosecutor went to another Judge and got it dismissed. Then a 19 year old on meth and some other drug and .05% (the test after jaws of life extraction and careflight) was allowed to plead to Minor with Any BAC. He had hit a car head on. The victims sustained life altering injuries. The maximum penalty is 360 hours of community service and a fine. And he was already on probation for a DUI in another county. The “system” isn’t broken. It is full of people who forget their duties.

[leapfrog0202]

Auntie,

In broad daylight and typical traffic it’s certainly not uncommon to find drivers exceeding the speed limit in Santa Fe by 20 miles per hour or more on surface roads, not the interstate. Also, NM drivers are well known for running red lights ~ not even just changed to red but RED for like 5 or 10 seconds. Combine that with failure to yield right of way and you’ve got a mess. Throw in the drunks and there you have it....

When I moved to Albuquerque 7.5 years ago I was sure someone was going to either rear end us because we DID stop at red lights or T-bone us by going through one where we’d already entered the intersection. Honestly sometimes I look in the rear view mirror after beginning to stop at a yellow and I just floor it because you can tell the person behind you planned to run it and there’s no way they were going to be able to stop if I did.

I drive all over for work, from Dallas all the way out to LA and San Diego and there’s nowhere I hate driving the way I hate driving in NM.

I can see why your friend says that.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Too many powerful politicians’ children getting caught, I’d guess.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I had an aunt in New Mexico who would always tell me they drive like idiots there. A couple of decades or so ago one ABQ radio station was airing a parody “Drive Like A New Mexican” (played over Walk Like An Egyptian). The aunt would tell me one huge problem was Indians who were accustomed to running their cars all over wide-open reservations who would then come into town and drive the same way.

[leapfrog0202]

Too many powerful politicians’ children getting caught, I’d guess.
__________________________

Not even that, but more involved with the fact that so many people in many gov’t agencies (whether state, federal or local gov’t) are related to others in the agency or in a sister agency. So everyone knows someone or is related to or owes a favor to someone.

As another example of how wonderfully people think here, someone in the college, can’t remember which dept. though, was publicized on the radio station during one of the more recent DUI blitzes as saying they were going to send a campus wide email stating that this coming Friday night was due to be a DUI blitz night. When called on it by the radio station, they said “well we weren’t going to say where the checkpoints were going to be.” Oh, okay then, as long as you aren’t going to warn everyone or anything! So all the people they were hoping to catch that probably usually get away with it got this nice little warning not to go out to party on that particular night.

You can’t win for losing, honestly.

[CedarDave]

Is this why my friend, who is living in Santa Fe right now, says the drivers there are the worst she’s ever seen? She absolutely can’t get over how dangerous, rude, inconsiderate, and stupidly they drive. They’re just inebriated?

No they're just typical liberals who believe that they are the anointed ones and entitled to do or drive the way they want and the rest of us little people can just get out of the way.

[nkycincinnatikid]

Good on y’all that you were not wearing after shave.
That conceit would have cost you several thousand smackers.