Snohomish County DUI Defense Advocate » Crime

Deadliest Catch star jailed in Seattle following a DUI arrest

Scott W. Lawrence, Esq. — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:33:59 +0000

Deadliest Catch star Jake Harris,24, was arrested last night on suspicion of DUI, Hit & Run and Driving While License Suspended. He is currently sitting in the King County jail in Seattle where he was booked Thursday night just before midnight.

It’s been a bad year for Deadliest Catch’s Harris family. Captain Phil Harris, 53, died of complications from a stroke earlier this month in an Alaskan hopital.

People magazine spoke with the Washington State Patrol regarding the incident.

“Mr. Harris was spotted driving a BMW 3 Series erratically Thursday evening by a citizen in Shoreline, Wa. We were able to locate his vehicle by aircraft, and he was pulled over in the Seattle area. The car was registered to his father,” says Washington State Patrol spokesman Dan McDonald.

“He failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a toxicological test,” McDonald added. “After further investigation, it was found that he was involved in a hit and run with another occupied vehicle earlier in the evening. He had rear-ended another car.”

State Patrol trooper shot by DUI supects husband

Scott W. Lawrence, Esq. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:27:14 +0000

The story regarding the shooting of Washington State Patrol Trooper Scott Johnson on Saturday continues to unfold. The latest, according to the Seattle Times, is that the wife of the man suspected of shooting the Trooper had been arrested on suspicion of DUI earlier that same night by a different Trooper. The Trooper Greene had transported the woman away from the scene while Trooper Johnson stayed to conduct an inventory search of the woman’s vehicle before towing.

The shooting occurred after another trooper, Jesse Greene, had pulled over a woman on suspicion of drunken driving.

Johnson, who was working solo in a patrol cruiser, arrived around 12:20 a.m. so Greene could take the driver in for processing.

Tow-truck driver George Hill arrived and was preparing to tow the car when the shooter emerged from the dark. The man exchanged words with the trooper and opened fire at 12:40 a.m.

Johnson got off a shot but there was no indication at the scene that his assailant was hit.

Trooper Johnson was released from the hospital on Monday.

Washington Trooper Shooting Suspect Caught

Scott W. Lawrence, Esq. — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:06:25 +0000

A suspect in the Saturday morning shooting of Washington State Trooper Scott Johnson has been caught.

Martin A. Jones, 45, of Seaview was arrested overnight Sunday in Long Beach and has been booked into Pacific County jail. The State Patrol is still looking for evidence and tips from the public.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

The State Patrol says Scott Johnson was working a drunk driving case in Long Beach when a man walked up, started an argument, and then shot him twice, including once in the head.

Dozens of officers spent Sunday going house-to-house all throughout the Long Beach peninsula. Investigators consider this an ambush, and believe Johnson was chosen at random.

Meanwhile, Trooper Johnson is recovering at a Portland, OR hospital and scheduled to be released today. It is not known whether the bullet fragment lodged in the back of Trooper Johnson’s head will ever be able to be removed.

Hit and run may be resolved by civil compromise.

Scott W. Lawrence, Esq. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:15:50 +0000

Some imporant DUI-related rulings were handed down in Washington in October. State v. Stalker, decided October 19, 2009 by Division I involves a DUI and Hit and Run. This case is relevant to DUI Defense because of the significant number of Hit and Run charges that accompany DUIs. The trial court dismissed the Hit and Run on a showing of civil compromise. [A civil compromise, under RCW 10.22, allows the court to dismiss most misdemeanors if the victim declares that he or she: (1) has been paid back for all damages; and (2) does not wish to pursue criminal charges.]

In Washington, restitution cannot be ordered on a Hit and Run because the damages are not a result of the crime. The crime is leaving the scene of an accident, not the act of getting into the accident. On appeal, the Prosecution argued that the same reasoning should apply to a civil compromise of a Hit and Run. Payment for damages should not be considered restituion for the crime because the damages were not the result of any crime. In making this argument the prosecution urged the court to overturn prior precedent which specifically allowed for civl compromise of a Hit and Run.

The court of appeals agreed with the trial court and upheld the dismissal. Thus, civil compromise remains a great tool in resolving Hit and Run and many other crimes by taking discretion out of the prosecutor’s hands and placing it with the victim.

Suspected DUI driver shuts down Highway 18 in Auburn

Scott W. Lawrence, Esq. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:37:42 +0000

If you were stuck in traffic nightmare South of Seattle this morning it may have been due to the following incident.

The Seattle Times reported:

The Washington State Patrol says a drunken driver went the wrong way for a mile-and-a-half on Highway 18 before colliding head-on with another car.

The crash about 3 a.m. Thursday seriously injured the other driver. The wrong-way driver suffered minor injuries.

Westbound lanes of Highway 18 were closed for two hours.

No other details were readily available as of Thursday night.