Polk County DUI Attorney Blog

A central woman went back into Court on a motion for representation against the State. The defendant, 27-year old Tiffany Ann Davis, is facing a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison for four felony accounts of DUI manslaughter. Davis had originally been arrested in March for a misdemeanor case when the State amended the charges up to four felony charges, including DUI manslaughter.

The central Florida police accused the driver of crossing into oncoming traffic and slamming into a pickup truck. Toxicology reports acknowledged that Davis had several medications in her system, including marijuana, cocaine and oxycodone. The defendant claims that the drugs in her system were miniscule.

This Polk County felony criminal case has now turned into a civil matter. The defendant is suing the alleged victim for monetary damages because she claims it actually was the victim who crossed into her lane and is liable for the crash. The alleged victim left the country the day following the accident and returned to the U.K.

The judge reserved ruling on the defense's motion. The criminal case has been set for trial in January of 2010, but may be pushed back for preparation. The defense is expected to call additional experts for testimony on the toxicology report.

A driver has been arrested for a Polk County DUI after he allegedly causing a traffic crash while texting. The defendant, 26-year old Stephen Wade Horne, is accused of texting on his cell phone when he crashed into a stopped garbage truck. A trash collector employee, 20-year old Emmanuel Mejia, fell victim to the accident and was pinned between the vehicles. Mejia ended up losing both of his legs from injury.

The accident occurred in August, but the Polk County Sheriff's Department arrested Horne on Monday on Polk County reckless driving causing serious bodily injury charges. Horne has not posted the $15,000 bond required and remains inside the Polk County Jail. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in State prison.

Florida Statute 316.192 defines the crime of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury as driving with the willful disregard for the safety of others that ultimately results in serious bodily injury to another. Serious bodily injury is where the victim risked possible death, suffered serious disfigurement, permanent loss and or impairment of a bodily member or organ. The State of Florida considers this crime a third degree felony. Often times the circumstances surrounding the crime allow this charge is added to a Polk County DUI case.

A Polk County court has sentenced a woman to ten years behind bars resulting from her involvement with a DUI crash in 2007. The State accused the defendant, 29-year old Jennifer Oatman, of making an illegal turn at a red light and crashing into another vehicle on September 14, 2007. Oatman tried to flee the scene, but the authorities caught up to her. She possessed a blood alcohol content of .186, over double the Florida legal limit for alcohol consumption of .08.

The victim and other driver involved in the crash, Tijuana Jordan, was in her final trimester of pregnancy. Doctors were forced to perform an emergency C-section of the baby after the accident. The baby, Isaiah, died within days of his traumatic birth. An autopsy determined the cause of death of baby Isaiah to be blunt force trauma from the accident.

A Polk County driver faces DUI manslaughter charges after hitting a member of a roadside construction crew in the wee hours of October 19, 2006. The driver of a white BMW, Elias Sota, lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a worksite installing traffic signals. Sota hit a young man, 18-year old Michael Gunter, while unpacking a trailer. He suffered from two broken legs and severe internal bleeding.

Gunter died months later as a result of his injuries. This week Sota will head to trial to face charges of DUI manslaughter, manslaughter by culpable negligence and two counts of DUI stemming from the 2006 crash. However, the defendant's blood alcohol content registered below the Florida legal limit of .08 at .051 and .055, at the time of arrest.

A jury sentenced a man to 25 years in prison for DUI manslaughter. The accused, 27-year old Luis Gonzales-Ines, was out on bond when he ran over a motorcyclist in Polk County. Gonzales-Ines had posted bond two months earlier and was awaiting trial for a DUI charge at the time of the crash.

The victim, 36-year old Gilberto Acevedo, spent the day riding his motorcycle with friends during the day of the accident. Witnesses testified they saw the Defendant's truck hit Acevedo's motorcycle from behind. The truck then dragged the motorcycle and the victim under it. Both vehicles burst into flames and Gonzales-Ines fled the scene on foot. A Polk County Sheriff's tracking dog located the defendant passed out in an orange grove. The victim leaves behind two small daughters who now reside with relatives in Puerto Rico.

A suspect has been finally arrested in connection to a February DUI manslaughter case. Chelsea, Massachusetts authorities found and arrested the 24-year old defendant, Jason Torres. Torres was the driver in a Polk County vehicular accident that killed two of his passengers. He submitted to a blood alcohol test at the time of the crash and it registered at .118. This reading is well over the Florida legal limit of .08. He posted bond and allegedly skipped town. The Lakeland man faced two counts of DUI manslaughter charges prior to fleeing the State of Florida.

Massachusetts State Police are holding Torres without bond. He is awaiting extradition back to Florida. Polk County Sheriff's office is ready for the defendant's return where he will stand trial for the two DUI manslaughter charges.