A 64-year-old Pennsylvania woman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for the sixth time on March 10. Police in Pike County say that the woman was taken into custody in Milford after a concerned motorist called 911 to report a suspected impaired driver. After being processed, the woman was deemed unfit for presentment and passed to the Department of Corrections. She was later released after posting bail of $3,100.
Media reports indicate that the motorist who called 911 followed the woman’s car as it proceeded northbound on Route 113. The caller claims that the woman had difficulty remaining in a single lane as she neared Georgetown and pulled into a parking lot on Lakeview Avenue. This is when law enforcement arrived at the scene.
Officers claim that they woman displayed several signs of impairment and failed a standardized field sobriety test. However, initial accounts to not indicate what factors may have led officers to suspect intoxication. According to reports, police then determined that the woman was under the influence of narcotics of some kind and obtained a search warrant to obtain a sample of her blood. A records check is said to have revealed that the woman had previously faced drunk driving charges four times in Pennsylvania and once in Virginia.
Negotiating plea agreements can be challenging even for experienced criminal defense attorneys when their clients have been convicted of the same offense on several previous occasions. However, attorneys in situations like this may still advise their clients to consider an agreement rather than take their chances with a jury. This is especially true if the evidence against them is convincing and the police officers involved appear to have acted properly. Defense attorneys could also encourage prosecutors to consider a compromise by reminding them that arguing cases in open court always involves a certain amount of risk and squanders precious resources.
