DUI (Pinellas County)

Facts: Our client was arrested for DUI and leaving the scene when witnesses called indicated he hit a vehicle while driving the wrong way through a drive thru. Upon his arrest his vehicle was searched and law enforcement found several pills not in a prescription bottle. Our client also refused to provide a breath sample when asked at the conclusion off the roadside investigation. Based on the fact that our client had many prior DUIs he was looking at felony charges for the DUI along with the drugs found in the vehicle.

Results: We contacted the state right away after we were retained because our client had provided us with prescriptions for the pills found in the vehicle. Because they were lawfully possessed the drug charges were dropped and the DUI was filed on as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Knowing his history, our client was prepared to plea to resolve this case from day 1. However, the state objected to him resolving his case as a misdemeanor as they were requesting the documents to prove his prior DUIs out of state. After multiple calls and discussions we finally succeeded in convincing the state to allow our client to plea in county court to avoid a potential prison sentence.