Van Nuys Juvenile DUI

Juvenile DUI

Question:  I’m 17 years  old and recently got charged with a DUI in Van Nuys, CA. Unfortunately, I also hit a mail box and did some damage to it.  I was told by the officer that I blew a .11 BAC on the breath machine.  What do you think I should do?  Is this serious?  I was very apologetic to the officer for hitting the mailbox.  Do you think I can just pay for the mailbox and have everything else go away?  I have never had an issue like this before, and neither have my friends, so i am not sure what the first step should be.

Answer:  This is something that you should speak to a DUI Attorney about in more detail. This will likely be charged as a VC 23152 DUI if you blew into an evidential breath machine with the result of a .11. The accident could bring up a restitution issue and the prosecutor may try to be a little more aggressive in prosecuting it.

Also, not sure if you don’t have a license, or if you have one and it is suspended, but whatever the case, you are likely looking at an additional charge of either VC 14601 (or subsection of that statute) or VC 12500.

Unfortunately, the charges won’t go away simply because you agree to pay the owner of the mailbox for the damages.  All is not lost though.  There are often good defenses to DUI cases. In order to give a more accurate assessment, a DUI attorney would need more information.

Also, time is of the essence to request a DMV hearing, which generally speaking, needs to be requested within 10 days of the arrest/citation.  This is something I can help you with if retained in time to do so.

Feel free to call me at (818) 336-1384 to discuss your case in more detail.

DUI & DMV hearing Attorney, including Juvenile matters

Los Angeles & surrounding Counties