Chief
09-07-2007, 01:58 PM
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9629797.html
The first person to be snared by the state's new felony DUI faced a judge on Thursday. Police, meanwhile, are on the hunt for the second person charged under the law.
The state's newest drunk driving law has snagged a second suspect -- another chronic repeat offender.
The new felony drunk driving law, which took effect on July 1, is an attempt to get drivers with multiple DUIs off the road and into hard prison time.
Paul Yahne, the first repeat drunk driver in the state to be prosecuted for felony DUI is currently in jail. The second should also be behind bars according to the law, but he's on the run.
It's an unusual setting for Yahne. Up until now, his DUI cases have all been in lower courts as they've all been misdemeanors.
But on Thursday, Yahne was charged with a felony in Superior Court. The Gig Harbor man is the first in the state to be prosecuted for felony drunk driving, which requires five DUIs in a 10-year period.
If convicted, he could get up to ten years in state prison instead of just a few months in county jail.
"I certainly think the Legislature understands it's a serious situation that we have here in Washington and they want to take a harder stance on it," said Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Sabrina Ahrens.
It's the state's effort to hammer those who get hammered time after time and chose to drive. Some drivers say it's still not tough enough.
"After the first time, they shouldn't get a second chance," said driver Raisa Lane of Federal Way. "They could have killed somebody the first time, so why let them back out?"
It's repeat drunk drivers like Yahne that prompted the passage of the felony DUI bill. His fifth arrest in a 10- year period happened last month as Yahne was driving along Highway 16 through Tacoma.
Police said he smelled of alcohol and, when they looked inside his truck, they discovered the dashboard had been ripped apart. They said it appeared he had disabled the ignition interlock device designed to prevent him from driving while drunk.
The law had already taken away his license, but that hadn't prevented him from driving.
Now he may be the first in the state to be taken out of the driver's seat for a long time as he could be headed to prison.
KOMO 4 News has learned police are on the hunt for another multiple DUI suspect, who has also been charged under the new law.
Donald Cochrane was injured in a drunk-driving crash just days after the law took effect in July, but he took off from the hospital and hasn't been seen since. A warrant is out for his arrest.
**SCHNIPP**
It was a step in the right direction, but five is too many IMHO too. The real test is to see if the law will stand up all the way through an appeal. Once that happens, perhaps the legislature can be persuaded to go back in and tighten up the requirements. Perhaps the third DUI ought to result in a mandatory five year sentence; especially if that person has been afforded multiple chances to mend their ways.
Till then we'll see how this works out.
The first person to be snared by the state's new felony DUI faced a judge on Thursday. Police, meanwhile, are on the hunt for the second person charged under the law.
The state's newest drunk driving law has snagged a second suspect -- another chronic repeat offender.
The new felony drunk driving law, which took effect on July 1, is an attempt to get drivers with multiple DUIs off the road and into hard prison time.
Paul Yahne, the first repeat drunk driver in the state to be prosecuted for felony DUI is currently in jail. The second should also be behind bars according to the law, but he's on the run.
It's an unusual setting for Yahne. Up until now, his DUI cases have all been in lower courts as they've all been misdemeanors.
But on Thursday, Yahne was charged with a felony in Superior Court. The Gig Harbor man is the first in the state to be prosecuted for felony drunk driving, which requires five DUIs in a 10-year period.
If convicted, he could get up to ten years in state prison instead of just a few months in county jail.
"I certainly think the Legislature understands it's a serious situation that we have here in Washington and they want to take a harder stance on it," said Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Sabrina Ahrens.
It's the state's effort to hammer those who get hammered time after time and chose to drive. Some drivers say it's still not tough enough.
"After the first time, they shouldn't get a second chance," said driver Raisa Lane of Federal Way. "They could have killed somebody the first time, so why let them back out?"
It's repeat drunk drivers like Yahne that prompted the passage of the felony DUI bill. His fifth arrest in a 10- year period happened last month as Yahne was driving along Highway 16 through Tacoma.
Police said he smelled of alcohol and, when they looked inside his truck, they discovered the dashboard had been ripped apart. They said it appeared he had disabled the ignition interlock device designed to prevent him from driving while drunk.
The law had already taken away his license, but that hadn't prevented him from driving.
Now he may be the first in the state to be taken out of the driver's seat for a long time as he could be headed to prison.
KOMO 4 News has learned police are on the hunt for another multiple DUI suspect, who has also been charged under the new law.
Donald Cochrane was injured in a drunk-driving crash just days after the law took effect in July, but he took off from the hospital and hasn't been seen since. A warrant is out for his arrest.
**SCHNIPP**
It was a step in the right direction, but five is too many IMHO too. The real test is to see if the law will stand up all the way through an appeal. Once that happens, perhaps the legislature can be persuaded to go back in and tighten up the requirements. Perhaps the third DUI ought to result in a mandatory five year sentence; especially if that person has been afforded multiple chances to mend their ways.
Till then we'll see how this works out.