Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Traffic stops lead to busy court docket

Municipal Court was busy February 15, with a full docket, including five cases of driving while under the influence (DWI).

Municipal Judge Gene Hale took the DWI cases first, with four of the suspects entering guilty pleas. One man, Lawrence Dimler, pled not guilty, with a trial held once the rest of the courts cases were over.

Mark Morrow was first up, pleading guilty to DWI, along with hazardous and careless driving, along with not wearing a seat belt. He was fined a total of $1,005 and ordered to attend a DWI driving class, as were the others.

Ronnie Henry was next up. His case was more serious as it was his third DWI offense. Hale wasted no time in telling Henry he would have to serve some jail time. Henry was also informed DWI IV is a felony offense. Along with the DWI charge, Henry was cited for careless or hazardous driving and failure to appear. He pled guilty to all charges. Hale fined him a total of $2,265 and ordered him to take outpatient treatment for alcohol. He was also sentenced to a year in jail, with all but 89 days suspended.

Clifton Goshen followed, pleading guilty to DWI I and driving on expired tags. He was fined $1,105 and asked to attend a DWI class.

Hubbard Fort pled guilty to DWI, but told the court he didnt know hed been charged with DWI. The paperwork in the case showed Fort registered a 0.1 on the breath test. He was fined $860 and told to a DWI class.

Speeders followed the DWI cases, with Marcus Hamilton taking center stage first. He was also cited for failure to appear, pleading guilty to both. He was fined $395 and court costs, and given 30 days to complete a defensive driving course, as were all charged with speeding.

Amber Hill pled guilty to speeding, taking a fine of $135, as did Jessica Johnson.

Chikako Bonner pled guilty to speeding and not guilty to having no liability insurance. He brought proof of insurance, but Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dana Stone examined the documents and said the policy was issued after the ticket. He was found guilty on that charge as well and fined a total of $420.

Derrick Smith pled guilty to speeding and not wearing a safety belt. He was fined $120.

Terry Woodley pled guilty to speeding and was fined $135, as did Kyle Hudson.

Ricky Hewitt pled guilty to speeding and unsafe operation of a vehicle. He was fined $310.

Along with a speeding charge, Don Miles was cited for driving on a suspended license and failure to appear. He wound up with $545 in fines and will remain on probation till the fines are paid, at which time his license will be cleared.

Steven Patton, Keith Culpepper and Mike Bruner all entered guilty pleas to speeding and were fined $185 each.

Claudio Muldrew had a warning for speeding, but was cited for not having liability insurance. This cost him $185.

Ken Beall was found guilty of speeding and failure to comply. His fines totaled $585.

Michael Evans was found guilty of speeding and failure to appear. He was fined a total of $445.

David Perkins pled guilty to driving on suspended license, failure to appear and failure to comply. His fines totaled $525, but Perkins had an outstanding balance of $375, bringing his total to $900.

Aleshia Gulley pled guilty to failure to comply on paying old fines and ordered to pay $420.

Jonathan Smith pled guilty to driving on a suspended license and fined $285.

This brought the court back to the Dimler case. Arkansas State Trooper Keith Teague was the officer who cited Dimler for DWI.

He testified to being a certified officer and told the court he was dispatched to a two-vehicle accident on Nov. 19, 2005 on Highway 53, north of Highway 24.

Teague said based on the point of impact and the debris field from the vehicles in the north lane of traffic, he concluded Dimler had crossed the center line and struck the other vehicle. In addition, he noticed the odor of alcohol on Dimlers breath.

Teague did a preliminary sobriety test, noting Dimler was disabled, but said the suspect was unable to do the walk and turn test. Dimler was taken to the Nevada County Sheriffs Office and given a breath test. The result was 0.94. In Arkansas, the legal limit for DWI is 0.08.

Dimler, Teague said, was read his rights and charged with DWI I and driving left of center.

Dimler, on cross examination, asked why the other driver wasnt tested for DWI, claiming he was the one hit, thereby the victim in the case. Dimler was argumentative toward Teague, and asked who removed items from his vehicle.

Teague said the ASP did not search his vehicle, and couldnt answer the question.

Dimler took the stand in his defense, presenting photos of his vehicle. He said the other driver veered into his lane and hit his car. However, he did admit drinking one beer.

According to Dimler, the other driver moved his vehicle, whereas he couldnt move his (Dimlers). He also claimed the other driver could have moved the debris.

Stone summed up the states case saying Dimler admitted he had drank an alcoholic beverage and the blood alcohol test showed 0.094. Dimler was found guilty of DWI and driving left of center and fined a total of $995.