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05-03-2009, 10:06 PM
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Copied this from Edd West MCSO who has a 33' Outlaw and boats on Conroe.
Memorial Day weekend to bring ‘no refusal’ for BWIs
http://images.townnews.com/hcnonlin...ews/bwi0503.jpgA group of friends enjoy an evening boating on Lake Conroe Saturday. Memorial Day will mark the start of a new ‘no refusal’ for BWI initiative. The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Houston Police Department for the initiative, the first of its kind in the nation.
By Nancy Flake
Updated: 05.02.09
Memorial Day will herald the beginning of a safer summer on Lake Conroe with a first-of-its-kind crackdown on boaters who operate their vessels drunk.
People suspected of boating while intoxicated who refuse a field sobriety test will be taken to a Houston Police Department mobile unit – one of two stationed at the lake – for blood and breathalyzer tests, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam said.
A judge will be stationed at each mobile unit to issue a search warrant for blood tests. Nurses also will be at the units to draw blood.
The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Houston Police Department for the initiative, which Diepraam said is the first of its kind in the nation.
“I’ve not found one anywhere,” he said. “(District Attorney) Brett Ligon wants to restore boating safety to Lake Conroe.”
Several similar holiday “no refusal” DWI initiatives resulted in multiple arrests each time.
When Ligon hired Diepraam, a specialist in DWI cases, from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he told Diepraam about the problems with BWIs on Lake Conroe.
“When I talked to other people about it, they told me they were too afraid to go on the lake,” Diepraam said. “It’s something that needs focus. It’s a sad thing when recreational boaters and families can’t even go on the lake in the summer.”
Deaths on Lake
There were two fatalities on the lake last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. One was a drowning. The other resulted in an intoxication manslaughter charge for allegedly operating a watercraft drunk.
A 42-year-old woman was thrown from a Jet Ski operated by her boyfriend when it hit a stump in the north part of the lake in June. It took several days to find the woman’s body. The uninjured man was arrested the night of the accident on a second-degree felony charge of intoxication manslaughter and a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Prosecuting BWI suspects
There were 57 BWI arrests on Lake Conroe from 2004-08, including 10 last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
But there have been few BWI prosecutions, said Lt. Bryan Dubose, of the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol division.
“I know it was way less than 25 percent (of arrests),” he said. “They (prosecutors) wanted to see people drunk on the water, but we didn’t have cameras on our boats.”
That will change, Diepraam said.
“We have assured them that if they find intoxicated boaters,” he said, “we’re going to prosecute them.”
It will be easier to make strong prosecution cases on BWIs with new video equipment being purchased for Lake Patrol and TPWD boats. Funds to purchase the cameras will come from the DA’s Office asset forfeiture fund.
Two of the Lake Patrol boats will have the cameras.
“We hope to have them by Memorial Day,” Dubose said. “It gives you good probable cause.”
At least four of TPWD’s eight boats on the lake will have the cameras.
“They’ll allow everyone involved, including prosecutors, to see what I see,” Game Warden Dean Fitzpatrick said.
The DA’s Office also wants to purchase an infrared camera to be used by both Lake Patrol and TPWD officers that can test eye movements as part of a field sobriety test, Diepraam said.
“In the presence of alcohol, the eye slows down,” he said.
The camera, which would cost about $4,000, Diepraam said, would measure alcohol gaze nystagmus, a type of jerking when the eye begins to lag as it follows an object and has to correct itself.
Lake Accidents
Since 2004, there have been 33 accidents on the lake, with 26 injuries and six fatalities, including drownings, according to the TPWD.
A 26-year-old Willis man was critically injured last August when a speedboat smashed into a pontoon boat he was operating. The man’s abdomen was sliced open by the speedboat’s propeller, but he recovered.
TPWD game wardens arrested the 48-year-old speedboat operator on a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Three people – all members of the same family – died in a single boating accident in July 1999 when a speedboat driven by Reginald Eugene “Dusty” Morris slammed into a cabin cruiser.
The accident killed Joseph Grisby on his first birthday, his mother, Lonnie Grosby, 28, and his aunt, Jewell Brown, 38. Morris was first convicted in 2000 on three counts of intoxication manslaughter, but the verdict was overturned by the 9th state Court of Appeals. Appellate judges ruled Morris’ constitutional rights were denied when visiting state District Judge John C. Martin refused to allow two different versions of who was driving the boat to be admitted during trial.
Morris was convicted a second time in 2004 and sentenced to 48 years in prison. The 9th state Court of Appeals, however, ruled in 2007 that part of Morris’ sentencing was incorrect and reduced his term to 36 years.
No Refusal Weekends
The BWI no refusal initiative Memorial Day weekend will be the first of several over the summer, with similar initiatives a “definite possibility” for the July 4 and Labor Day holiday weekends, Diepraam said.
“Our ultimate goal would be if there were no BWI cases,” he said. “We hope to have no fatalities on Lake Conroe.”
__________________
Memorial Day weekend to bring ‘no refusal’ for BWIs
http://images.townnews.com/hcnonlin...ews/bwi0503.jpgA group of friends enjoy an evening boating on Lake Conroe Saturday. Memorial Day will mark the start of a new ‘no refusal’ for BWI initiative. The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Houston Police Department for the initiative, the first of its kind in the nation.
By Nancy Flake
Updated: 05.02.09
Memorial Day will herald the beginning of a safer summer on Lake Conroe with a first-of-its-kind crackdown on boaters who operate their vessels drunk.
People suspected of boating while intoxicated who refuse a field sobriety test will be taken to a Houston Police Department mobile unit – one of two stationed at the lake – for blood and breathalyzer tests, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam said.
A judge will be stationed at each mobile unit to issue a search warrant for blood tests. Nurses also will be at the units to draw blood.
The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Houston Police Department for the initiative, which Diepraam said is the first of its kind in the nation.
“I’ve not found one anywhere,” he said. “(District Attorney) Brett Ligon wants to restore boating safety to Lake Conroe.”
Several similar holiday “no refusal” DWI initiatives resulted in multiple arrests each time.
When Ligon hired Diepraam, a specialist in DWI cases, from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he told Diepraam about the problems with BWIs on Lake Conroe.
“When I talked to other people about it, they told me they were too afraid to go on the lake,” Diepraam said. “It’s something that needs focus. It’s a sad thing when recreational boaters and families can’t even go on the lake in the summer.”
Deaths on Lake
There were two fatalities on the lake last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. One was a drowning. The other resulted in an intoxication manslaughter charge for allegedly operating a watercraft drunk.
A 42-year-old woman was thrown from a Jet Ski operated by her boyfriend when it hit a stump in the north part of the lake in June. It took several days to find the woman’s body. The uninjured man was arrested the night of the accident on a second-degree felony charge of intoxication manslaughter and a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Prosecuting BWI suspects
There were 57 BWI arrests on Lake Conroe from 2004-08, including 10 last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
But there have been few BWI prosecutions, said Lt. Bryan Dubose, of the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol division.
“I know it was way less than 25 percent (of arrests),” he said. “They (prosecutors) wanted to see people drunk on the water, but we didn’t have cameras on our boats.”
That will change, Diepraam said.
“We have assured them that if they find intoxicated boaters,” he said, “we’re going to prosecute them.”
It will be easier to make strong prosecution cases on BWIs with new video equipment being purchased for Lake Patrol and TPWD boats. Funds to purchase the cameras will come from the DA’s Office asset forfeiture fund.
Two of the Lake Patrol boats will have the cameras.
“We hope to have them by Memorial Day,” Dubose said. “It gives you good probable cause.”
At least four of TPWD’s eight boats on the lake will have the cameras.
“They’ll allow everyone involved, including prosecutors, to see what I see,” Game Warden Dean Fitzpatrick said.
The DA’s Office also wants to purchase an infrared camera to be used by both Lake Patrol and TPWD officers that can test eye movements as part of a field sobriety test, Diepraam said.
“In the presence of alcohol, the eye slows down,” he said.
The camera, which would cost about $4,000, Diepraam said, would measure alcohol gaze nystagmus, a type of jerking when the eye begins to lag as it follows an object and has to correct itself.
Lake Accidents
Since 2004, there have been 33 accidents on the lake, with 26 injuries and six fatalities, including drownings, according to the TPWD.
A 26-year-old Willis man was critically injured last August when a speedboat smashed into a pontoon boat he was operating. The man’s abdomen was sliced open by the speedboat’s propeller, but he recovered.
TPWD game wardens arrested the 48-year-old speedboat operator on a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Three people – all members of the same family – died in a single boating accident in July 1999 when a speedboat driven by Reginald Eugene “Dusty” Morris slammed into a cabin cruiser.
The accident killed Joseph Grisby on his first birthday, his mother, Lonnie Grosby, 28, and his aunt, Jewell Brown, 38. Morris was first convicted in 2000 on three counts of intoxication manslaughter, but the verdict was overturned by the 9th state Court of Appeals. Appellate judges ruled Morris’ constitutional rights were denied when visiting state District Judge John C. Martin refused to allow two different versions of who was driving the boat to be admitted during trial.
Morris was convicted a second time in 2004 and sentenced to 48 years in prison. The 9th state Court of Appeals, however, ruled in 2007 that part of Morris’ sentencing was incorrect and reduced his term to 36 years.
No Refusal Weekends
The BWI no refusal initiative Memorial Day weekend will be the first of several over the summer, with similar initiatives a “definite possibility” for the July 4 and Labor Day holiday weekends, Diepraam said.
“Our ultimate goal would be if there were no BWI cases,” he said. “We hope to have no fatalities on Lake Conroe.”
__________________
05-04-2009, 05:04 AM
Registered
Copied this from Edd West MCSO who has a 33' Outlaw and boats on Conroe.
Memorial Day weekend to bring ‘no refusal’ for BWIs
http://images.townnews.com/hcnonlin...ews/bwi0503.jpgA group of friends enjoy an evening boating on Lake Conroe Saturday. Memorial Day will mark the start of a new ‘no refusal’ for BWI initiative. The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Houston Police Department for the initiative, the first of its kind in the nation.
By Nancy Flake
Updated: 05.02.09
Memorial Day will herald the beginning of a safer summer on Lake Conroe with a first-of-its-kind crackdown on boaters who operate their vessels drunk.
People suspected of boating while intoxicated who refuse a field sobriety test will be taken to a Houston Police Department mobile unit – one of two stationed at the lake – for blood and breathalyzer tests, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam said.
A judge will be stationed at each mobile unit to issue a search warrant for blood tests. Nurses also will be at the units to draw blood.
The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Houston Police Department for the initiative, which Diepraam said is the first of its kind in the nation.
“I’ve not found one anywhere,” he said. “(District Attorney) Brett Ligon wants to restore boating safety to Lake Conroe.”
Several similar holiday “no refusal” DWI initiatives resulted in multiple arrests each time.
When Ligon hired Diepraam, a specialist in DWI cases, from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he told Diepraam about the problems with BWIs on Lake Conroe.
“When I talked to other people about it, they told me they were too afraid to go on the lake,” Diepraam said. “It’s something that needs focus. It’s a sad thing when recreational boaters and families can’t even go on the lake in the summer.”
Deaths on Lake
There were two fatalities on the lake last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. One was a drowning. The other resulted in an intoxication manslaughter charge for allegedly operating a watercraft drunk.
A 42-year-old woman was thrown from a Jet Ski operated by her boyfriend when it hit a stump in the north part of the lake in June. It took several days to find the woman’s body. The uninjured man was arrested the night of the accident on a second-degree felony charge of intoxication manslaughter and a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Prosecuting BWI suspects
There were 57 BWI arrests on Lake Conroe from 2004-08, including 10 last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
But there have been few BWI prosecutions, said Lt. Bryan Dubose, of the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol division.
“I know it was way less than 25 percent (of arrests),” he said. “They (prosecutors) wanted to see people drunk on the water, but we didn’t have cameras on our boats.”
That will change, Diepraam said.
“We have assured them that if they find intoxicated boaters,” he said, “we’re going to prosecute them.”
It will be easier to make strong prosecution cases on BWIs with new video equipment being purchased for Lake Patrol and TPWD boats. Funds to purchase the cameras will come from the DA’s Office asset forfeiture fund.
Two of the Lake Patrol boats will have the cameras.
“We hope to have them by Memorial Day,” Dubose said. “It gives you good probable cause.”
At least four of TPWD’s eight boats on the lake will have the cameras.
“They’ll allow everyone involved, including prosecutors, to see what I see,” Game Warden Dean Fitzpatrick said.
The DA’s Office also wants to purchase an infrared camera to be used by both Lake Patrol and TPWD officers that can test eye movements as part of a field sobriety test, Diepraam said.
“In the presence of alcohol, the eye slows down,” he said.
The camera, which would cost about $4,000, Diepraam said, would measure alcohol gaze nystagmus, a type of jerking when the eye begins to lag as it follows an object and has to correct itself.
Lake Accidents
Since 2004, there have been 33 accidents on the lake, with 26 injuries and six fatalities, including drownings, according to the TPWD.
A 26-year-old Willis man was critically injured last August when a speedboat smashed into a pontoon boat he was operating. The man’s abdomen was sliced open by the speedboat’s propeller, but he recovered.
TPWD game wardens arrested the 48-year-old speedboat operator on a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Three people – all members of the same family – died in a single boating accident in July 1999 when a speedboat driven by Reginald Eugene “Dusty” Morris slammed into a cabin cruiser.
The accident killed Joseph Grisby on his first birthday, his mother, Lonnie Grosby, 28, and his aunt, Jewell Brown, 38. Morris was first convicted in 2000 on three counts of intoxication manslaughter, but the verdict was overturned by the 9th state Court of Appeals. Appellate judges ruled Morris’ constitutional rights were denied when visiting state District Judge John C. Martin refused to allow two different versions of who was driving the boat to be admitted during trial.
Morris was convicted a second time in 2004 and sentenced to 48 years in prison. The 9th state Court of Appeals, however, ruled in 2007 that part of Morris’ sentencing was incorrect and reduced his term to 36 years.
No Refusal Weekends
The BWI no refusal initiative Memorial Day weekend will be the first of several over the summer, with similar initiatives a “definite possibility” for the July 4 and Labor Day holiday weekends, Diepraam said.
“Our ultimate goal would be if there were no BWI cases,” he said. “We hope to have no fatalities on Lake Conroe.”
__________________
Memorial Day weekend to bring ‘no refusal’ for BWIs
http://images.townnews.com/hcnonlin...ews/bwi0503.jpgA group of friends enjoy an evening boating on Lake Conroe Saturday. Memorial Day will mark the start of a new ‘no refusal’ for BWI initiative. The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Houston Police Department for the initiative, the first of its kind in the nation.
By Nancy Flake
Updated: 05.02.09
Memorial Day will herald the beginning of a safer summer on Lake Conroe with a first-of-its-kind crackdown on boaters who operate their vessels drunk.
People suspected of boating while intoxicated who refuse a field sobriety test will be taken to a Houston Police Department mobile unit – one of two stationed at the lake – for blood and breathalyzer tests, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam said.
A judge will be stationed at each mobile unit to issue a search warrant for blood tests. Nurses also will be at the units to draw blood.
The DA’s Office is teaming up with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Houston Police Department for the initiative, which Diepraam said is the first of its kind in the nation.
“I’ve not found one anywhere,” he said. “(District Attorney) Brett Ligon wants to restore boating safety to Lake Conroe.”
Several similar holiday “no refusal” DWI initiatives resulted in multiple arrests each time.
When Ligon hired Diepraam, a specialist in DWI cases, from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he told Diepraam about the problems with BWIs on Lake Conroe.
“When I talked to other people about it, they told me they were too afraid to go on the lake,” Diepraam said. “It’s something that needs focus. It’s a sad thing when recreational boaters and families can’t even go on the lake in the summer.”
Deaths on Lake
There were two fatalities on the lake last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. One was a drowning. The other resulted in an intoxication manslaughter charge for allegedly operating a watercraft drunk.
A 42-year-old woman was thrown from a Jet Ski operated by her boyfriend when it hit a stump in the north part of the lake in June. It took several days to find the woman’s body. The uninjured man was arrested the night of the accident on a second-degree felony charge of intoxication manslaughter and a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Prosecuting BWI suspects
There were 57 BWI arrests on Lake Conroe from 2004-08, including 10 last summer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
But there have been few BWI prosecutions, said Lt. Bryan Dubose, of the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Patrol division.
“I know it was way less than 25 percent (of arrests),” he said. “They (prosecutors) wanted to see people drunk on the water, but we didn’t have cameras on our boats.”
That will change, Diepraam said.
“We have assured them that if they find intoxicated boaters,” he said, “we’re going to prosecute them.”
It will be easier to make strong prosecution cases on BWIs with new video equipment being purchased for Lake Patrol and TPWD boats. Funds to purchase the cameras will come from the DA’s Office asset forfeiture fund.
Two of the Lake Patrol boats will have the cameras.
“We hope to have them by Memorial Day,” Dubose said. “It gives you good probable cause.”
At least four of TPWD’s eight boats on the lake will have the cameras.
“They’ll allow everyone involved, including prosecutors, to see what I see,” Game Warden Dean Fitzpatrick said.
The DA’s Office also wants to purchase an infrared camera to be used by both Lake Patrol and TPWD officers that can test eye movements as part of a field sobriety test, Diepraam said.
“In the presence of alcohol, the eye slows down,” he said.
The camera, which would cost about $4,000, Diepraam said, would measure alcohol gaze nystagmus, a type of jerking when the eye begins to lag as it follows an object and has to correct itself.
Lake Accidents
Since 2004, there have been 33 accidents on the lake, with 26 injuries and six fatalities, including drownings, according to the TPWD.
A 26-year-old Willis man was critically injured last August when a speedboat smashed into a pontoon boat he was operating. The man’s abdomen was sliced open by the speedboat’s propeller, but he recovered.
TPWD game wardens arrested the 48-year-old speedboat operator on a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Three people – all members of the same family – died in a single boating accident in July 1999 when a speedboat driven by Reginald Eugene “Dusty” Morris slammed into a cabin cruiser.
The accident killed Joseph Grisby on his first birthday, his mother, Lonnie Grosby, 28, and his aunt, Jewell Brown, 38. Morris was first convicted in 2000 on three counts of intoxication manslaughter, but the verdict was overturned by the 9th state Court of Appeals. Appellate judges ruled Morris’ constitutional rights were denied when visiting state District Judge John C. Martin refused to allow two different versions of who was driving the boat to be admitted during trial.
Morris was convicted a second time in 2004 and sentenced to 48 years in prison. The 9th state Court of Appeals, however, ruled in 2007 that part of Morris’ sentencing was incorrect and reduced his term to 36 years.
No Refusal Weekends
The BWI no refusal initiative Memorial Day weekend will be the first of several over the summer, with similar initiatives a “definite possibility” for the July 4 and Labor Day holiday weekends, Diepraam said.
“Our ultimate goal would be if there were no BWI cases,” he said. “We hope to have no fatalities on Lake Conroe.”
__________________
I hope that guy enjoyes his one term.
05-04-2009, 10:10 AM
Registered
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