Driver Reactions Complicate a 3rd DWI

 Posted on January 01, 2021 in Uncategorized

No doubt, getting pulled over under circumstances where an arrest and criminal charges seem imminent may put your cool head at risk. The stress of a vehicle stop increases when the driver knows that the vehicle contains contraband, illegal weapons, or open intoxicants, or if the driver has recently imbibed alcohol or used drugs. The driver's prior DWI convictions or other criminal history further raise the stakes.

One media report of a vehicle stop gone wrong perfectly illustrates the hazards. The December 2020 story alleges that Texas A & M University police tried to stop the vehicle driver early on a Saturday for a moving violation on a campus street, but the driver refused to stop. When the driver did eventually stop on another street, the story alleges that the driver left the vehicle and ran. Officers pursued and subdued the driver who, the story alleges, resisted arrest, requiring several officers to get the driver into the police vehicle.

The media report hints at the reasons, or perhaps poor excuses, for why the driver may have refused, resisted, and run. The account alleges not only that the driver smelled of alcohol but also had glassy eyes and trouble standing, and two prior Brazos County DWI convictions. The account reports that police transported the driver to the local hospital for a blood test, after which authorities charged the driver with evading arrest in a vehicle and third DWI, both third-degree felonies, a state-jail felony of evading arrest with a prior conviction, and a misdemeanor of driving on an invalid license with a prior conviction.

Enhanced Penalties for Multiple DWIs and Related Crimes

The above story illustrates how multiple DWI convictions and related crimes can lead to greater penalties. In Texas, first and second DWI offenses are misdemeanors. The driver in the above story may have spent little or no time in jail for his first and second DWI convictions. Yet as the story's reported felony charges show, Texas law enhances the typical DWI misdemeanor penalty into a third-degree felony when the driver has two prior DWI convictions. A felony conviction of a third DWI carries a potential maximum ten-year-imprisonment penalty. The story also shows that evading a DWI arrest can add other felonies or misdemeanors.

Get the Best Representation

Obviously, multiple prior DWI convictions complicate a successful DWI defense. So do multiple related charges due to refusal to stop and evading or resisting arrest. Of course, one is better to keep a cool head in a vehicle stop so as not to give grounds for additional charges. But multiple prior convictions or multiple related charges do not necessarily frustrate and defeat a successful defense. Learn more here about how nationally recognized DWI attorney Doug Murphy helps clients beat unsupported Texas DWI charges. And learn more here about your rights in defense of DWI and related charges.

The point is that 2021 Houston DWI Lawyer of the Year Doug Murphy is available to you to help. As a Board Certified DWI specialist and one of only two Texas lawyers holding both DWI Board Certification and Criminal Law Certification, Doug has the experience and skill to aggressively defend clients who have multiple prior DWI convictions or who face multiple related charges. Contact Murphy & McKinney Law Firm, P.C. online or at 713-229-8333 to discuss your case today. You can trust leading Texas DWI attorney Doug Murphy with the most-challenging DWI defenses.