Florida Man Arrested Twice in One Week on DUI Charges
One Florida man has the inglorious distinction of being arrested twice in one week for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Florida highway patrol arrested Henry Francis Davis, 23, on April 22 after he got into a scuffle with another driver. Police witnessed the man get out of his vehicle and then broke up the fight between the two drivers. The arresting police officer saw that Davis was impaired and filed DUI charges against him. The arrest reported said he failed field sobriety tests and his BAC was nearly twice the legal limit when tested with a breathalyzer.
Only six days later, Davis was at it again when officers found Davis driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic. Police say Davis was driving recklessly and nearly hitting other vehicles. Davis then told officers that he shouldn’t be driving and proceeded to nearly fall over when he exited his own vehicle.
According to affidavits, Davis has a third DUI arrest in California that preceded these charges. This means that Davis could be charged with enhanced penalties for subsequent DUI arrests. Below, we’ll take a look at what that means.
Understanding Multiple DUI Charges
Every state charges drivers for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Every state increases the penalties for drivers who are multiple offenders. However, the DUI arrests must occur within the lookback period.
What is the lookback period? The lookback period is how long DUI offenses stay on your record for the purposes of determining whether your DUI counts as a second or third offense. In Florida, specific penalties have their own lookback period. As an example, for the purposes of determining a minimum jail sentence, the lookback period is five years. In other cases, like determining a maximum jail sentence or fining a driver for operating their vehicle under the influence, there is no lookback period at all.
For this individual driver, since the DUI in California occurred within the last five years, he will be facing penalties for second and third DUI offenses, which is not a good situation to be in.
Mandatory Minimums
When you’re charged with a second DUI during a five-year period, you must spend a minimum of ten days in jail. For a third offense, that goes up to thirty days. Additionally, the aforementioned driver could lose his license for five years if he is convicted on all charges. After this individual becomes eligible to reapply for his license, he will need to install an ignition interlock device for a minimum of two years. However, if the third DUI conviction happened outside of the five-year lookback period, the sentencing minimums are tossed.
Let Us Help You Today
If you’ve been charged with DUI in Orlando, FL, you don’t just want to take a plea or plead guilty to the charges without first consulting an attorney. Call the Florida DUI defense attorneys at the FL DUI Group today for more information on how we can help.
Resource:
clickorlando.com/news/florida/2020/04/30/reports-florida-man-arrested-twice-in-a-week-on-dui-charges/
https://www.flduigroup.com/orange-county-man-charged-with-dui-manslaughter/
