On Sept. 25, a New York man was handed several felony charges after a traffic stop. The 26-year-old man was pulled over at 12:28 a.m. in East Hampton while he was driving along westbound Route 114 near Stephen Hands Path. East Hampton Town Police say that the accused man showed signs of intoxication including bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech and an unsteady gait.
Police reportedly asked the accused man to perform multiple standardized field sobriety tests during the traffic stop. After the man allegedly failed all of the field sobriety tests, he was booked on drunk driving and other charges. The man was offered a bail option that was set at $7,500.
Police charged the alleged drunk driver for DWI and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level over .08 percent. Because he had prior convictions for both of those charges within the past 10 years, the recent charges were felonies. The man was also handed several charges related to driving without a valid license while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
A person who has been handed multiple felony charges for one drunk driving incident may want to have representation from a criminal defense attorney. An attorney may be able to help a defendant to dispute some of the charges or negotiate a plea deal with the prosecution. Defendants are sometimes able to negotiate deals that involve pleading guilty to one charge in exchange for the dismissal of other charges. If a defendant agrees to enter alcohol or drug counseling, the prosecution may be more likely to accept a plea deal after a DWI incident.
Source: East Hampton Patch, “East Hampton Man Facing Felony DWI Charges: Police,” Lisa Finn, Oct. 4, 2016
