247 Arrested in DWI No-Refusal sweep

[editor]

DA Memorial Nonstop No Refusal Program Nets 247 DWI-related Arrests

Houston TX - The first nonstop Memorial Day Weekend No Refusal program resulted in the filing of 247 DWI-related charges in Harris County, District Attorney Patricia Lykos announced Friday.

Of the charges, 51 were against prior offenders now accused of their second or third DWI. Six other charges were for intoxicated driving with a child in the vehicle.

Brent Mayr, head of the District Attorney's Vehicular Crimes Section, reported that the No Refusal units obtained 51 search warrants to require tests for suspects, including 15 with prior DWI convictions.

He said overall statistics show that about half of the drivers typically decline voluntary DWI tests. During the No Refusal deployment, that refusal rate dropped to about one in every four motorists.

"This is a prime example of how effective these programs are," Mayr said. "It shows that people are getting the message that they can't avoid charges by refusing the tests."

There was one charge for the offense of Boating While Intoxicated, as part of the Houston Police Department's enforcement effort in the Lake Houston area. Other charges included one for intoxication assault, one for intoxication assault of a police officer, and one for intoxication manslaughter.

No Refusal relies on prosecutors, law enforcement officers and support personnel to expedite warrants from judges for prompt testing of suspects who refuse voluntary requests for tests of intoxicant levels in their blood.

Previous deployments had been in the evenings. The Memorial Day weekend operation went nonstop for the 72 hours that ended at 10 p.m. last Monday.

[ricco67]

I read that and I was happy that it was effective, but I would be thrilled if they added "command post" style areas at the hotspots (Wash ave, midtown, Downtown, 1960, Westheimer) around town.

Just curious as to the 51 warrants and were required for the 51 (as was reported by other media instead of 15), for the people with priors.

[HTX]

What do they do with the ones that refuse, the warrant and the test are immediate, and the "offender" passes?

[sheeats]

The Press had an article on that last Friday:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/20..._in_that_me.php

Heh. BATmobiles.

[RedScare]

What do they do with the ones that refuse, the warrant and the test are immediate, and the "offender" passes?

Once the defendant refuses, the prosecutor and police officer fill out the warrant and the judge signs it. Then they put the defendant in a chair (by force, if necessary) and a nurse draws the blood. The blood sample is sent off for testing, and the DWI charge is filed. If the sample comes back below the limit, the charge may be dismissed.

EDIT: BTW, the Lake Houston mandatory testing was different than Montgomery County's boating crackdown. Mont. Co. arested about 50 drivers and around 10 boaters on Lake Conroe on the same weekend.