One of my current investigations involves a background check & locate on a guy to have papers served on him. When the client assigned it to me they said something like "we know he had a DUI a few years ago, so maybe his criminal record will help you get his full name & DOB, etc. so you can find his current address".

So I start poking around and I find their information is partially correct. In fact, he did have his first Texas DUI several years ago, in the mid 90's. He has had numerous since then. In fact I can't actually come up with the actual number of DUI's he's had, because he has had so many that they keep getting reported as "3rd or more" and they are scattered all over Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina and Oklahoma. What I have confirmed is that in 2014 he had them in January, May, June and October. All 4 in the same county. He has already had one this year and is currently in custody at a county jail.

IN TEXAS 3 AND UP ARE FELONIES. HOW IN THE WORLD DOES THIS GUY KEEP GETTING OUT AND HOW DOES HE GET OUT SO FAST IF HE'S A WELL KNOWN REPEAT OFFENDER!! WHEN WILL THEY FINALLY SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" AND PUT HIM IN JAIL FOR A FEW YEARS?

And this is not the first time I've run across this. I had one a few years ago where the guy had 17 DUI's in Texas in less than 10 years. And most of his arrests involved evading/fleeing, driving wrong way on interstate, assaulting peace officer, kicking windows out of patrol cars after in custody.

Wait, your question is why don't cops do their jobs...lol

It seems like unless they kill somebody nothing is really done for repeat offenders.

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Wait, your question is why don't cops do their jobs...lol

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No it seems the cops are doing their jobs by arresting this guy over and over for the same crime.

Sounds like the cops are getting it right, your question should be for the D.A's and Judges.

Guess I was using cops as a broad term to represent the criminal legal system as a whole

Yeah, your beef is with the DAs making plea deals, and the judges' acceptance of them

Nothing is surprising anymore - my guess is these types have the money to pay good lawyers and bail bondsmen

Years ago when we had property in Montague county the old rancher next door told me some crazy stories about the local sheriff and bondsman arresting drug offenders and then bailing them out. He told me he himself was arrested by the sheriff for discharging a weapon running meth heads out of one of his barns. I thought he was just a tad off probably exaggerating but as I got to know him better I believed him.

The truth finally made it out and it was crazier than you could imagine in Montague County

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/02/28/ex-sheriff-jailers-charged-in-drug-smuggling-inmate-sex-scandal/

Sad part was one of the meth heads bailed out and killed a trooper in Kansas while holed up in a barn

This guy got life in Montgomery County for his 10th DWI

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I was just about to comment about the guy who got life.

Also, are you sure they were all separate arrests? I have seen multiple reports get issued for the same incident on background checks.

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Definitely separate. I have dates of arrest. Dates of release and even mug shots for a lot of them including the 4 from last year. And the dude definitely has the $$ for a good attorney.

I bet if that guy in Montgomery county had not threatened to kill the deputy and the deputies family, he would've only got a few years in tdcj and would've been back on the street in a few months.

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And the dude definitely has the $$ for a good attorney.

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That seems to be the key to getting away with a slap on the wrist after multiple dwi arrests.

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I bet if that guy in Montgomery county had not threatened to kill the deputy and the deputies family, he would've only got a few years in tdcj and would've been back on the street in a few months.

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I think Montgomery County has a DA that is no nonsense on DWI.

At least on the 10th go round.

Surely they werent all charged as misdemeanors. That I would find unusual. Assuming he has a couple of felony convictions, he'll run in to the wrong district attorney at some point and the remainder of his life will probably be spent in the texas dept of criminal justice - institutional division.

Montgomery County has always been very hard on DWI cases...

ask me how I know.

And drunks are still killing innocent kids on 105 every year.

Get behind the wheel impaired and your ass goes to jail here PERIOD

Is there a difference between DUI and DWI?

Yes

Barnes, I don't disagree that I deserved what I got, but the discrepancy between my treatment and others is a huge issue. The guy FS is talking about should be under the jail, not in it. After 3 DWIs I thinking you're basically trying to commit sucicde and the state should oblige you, while not risking anyone else's life.

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And drunks are still killing innocent kids on 105 every year.

Get behind the wheel impaired and your ass goes to jail here PERIOD

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Funny, I don't remember many stories of drivers who eat, fiddle with the radio, or sleep getting hauled to jail. Those are all typically much more dangerous than a .08 BAC.

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And drunks are still killing innocent kids on 105 every year.

Get behind the wheel impaired and your ass goes to jail here PERIOD

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Funny, I don't remember many stories of drivers who eat, fiddle with the radio, or sleep getting hauled to jail. Those are all typically much more dangerous than a .08 BAC.

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Oh so let's justify driving impaired by the excuses like this. Figures....

Lemme catch you over here driving impaired, Rusty Hardin won't keep you outta Huntsville

Did I excuse it?

I was just wondering why you weren't trying to make 105 safer.

It's not the drunk its the car! think of the children!

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Is there a difference between DUI and DWI?

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DUI in tx is driving with a detectable amount of alcohol in your system under 21 yrs old

FS,

Yes it sounds like this is more of a rant for DA/Judges however something to consider is this, especially if he has money.

In general it takes multiple felony offenses before much prison time will be seen for a DWI, especially in the larger and often more liberal counties that have heavy caseloads. Probably more important is that only a conviction counts towards enhancing an offense from a class b for the first to a class a for the second and then into a felony for third or more. I'm not saying that it would apply, but if someone got 4 DWIs in a 6 month period there is a reasonably good chance every single one of them would be charged as DWI 1st - class B misdemeanors, because it is very likely none would have resulted in a conviction within that time frame.

So he could be arrested twenty times for DWI, have gotten off 17 for having the money to pay a lawyer to play the game and maybe some shotty police work thrown in, gotten convicted twice for a lesser offense by way of pleas (obstruction of roadway or some nonsense) and been convicted on only one actual DWI making the next arrest a DWI second.

Now based on what you said it sounds like he has at least two convictions, so yes, too many pleas are reached and not enough punishment given to those who have clearly shown it's not a one night forgot to plan ahead type mistake.

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Is there a difference between DUI and DWI?

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DUI in tx is driving with a detectable amount of alcohol in your system under 21 yrs old

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Sorry, what I meant was "Is there a difference between DUI and DWI as used in this thread?" Op is talking about DUI, then it turns into DWI. Is the penalty for DUI lighter than DWI? could explain the op issue

Good thing the guy never got busted for weed.

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FS,

Yes it sounds like this is more of a rant for DA/Judges however something to consider is this, especially if he has money.

In general it takes multiple felony offenses before much prison time will be seen for a DWI, especially in the larger and often more liberal counties that have heavy caseloads. Probably more important is that only a conviction counts towards enhancing an offense from a class b for the first to a class a for the second and then into a felony for third or more. I'm not saying that it would apply, but if someone got 4 DWIs in a 6 month period there is a reasonably good chance every single one of them would be charged as DWI 1st - class B misdemeanors, because it is very likely none would have resulted in a conviction within that time frame.

So he could be arrested twenty times for DWI, have gotten off 17 for having the money to pay a lawyer to play the game and maybe some shotty police work thrown in, gotten convicted twice for a lesser offense by way of pleas (obstruction of roadway or some nonsense) and been convicted on only one actual DWI making the next arrest a DWI second.

Now based on what you said it sounds like he has at least two convictions, so yes, too many pleas are reached and not enough punishment given to those who have clearly shown it's not a one night forgot to plan ahead type mistake.

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DWI/DUI - I use them as interchangeable terms as does probably everybody except for a defense attorney & the DA. But looking at his record again they are all listed as DWI's.

The one mentioned by my client when the assignment was made, which I confirmed as happening in the mid 1990's, was his 3rd conviction (first felony conviction) in Texas. He was sentenced to some TDCJ time (180 days). He got out early and got another DWI almost immediately. While he was out on bail for that latest offense (which also included Unlawfully carrying a weapon) he ran. Nobody knew he ran until it was time for his hearing and he didn't appear. I guess his bail bondsman didn't check in on him. He was found in another state when pulled over for guess what? DWI, that's right!, he was arrested, spent some time in that state and was later brought back to TX. Since then I see several DWI's on his record, including the 4 from 2014 and the one from earlier this month just here in the same county in north TX. He has at least two others from 2013 in TX as well. There are so many I quit trying to keep track of them because it really has no bearing on my investigation since I know he is sitting in the cross-bar hotel. That makes serving papers pretty easy.

Texting (insert others) and driving is driving impaired. And just as willingly if not more.

If he hasn't hurt or killed anyone, then who cares?

So, why the double standard?