Tribune/Debra Reid - Flanked by law enforcement officers, Sparks City Attorney Chet Adams and other officials warned residents they’ll face the maximum penalties if caught driving under the influence. The upcoming Labor Day weekend is one of the worst holiday weekends for alcohol-related accidents.
“We will do everything we can to take your money, your time and your dignity for making such a stupid decision,” said city attorney Chet Adams at a Wednesday press conference.
Adams was one of several who gathered at Sparks City Hall, including local attorneys, judges and law enforcement officers from across northern Nevada. They came to send a message that drinking and driving over the Labor Day weekend would not be tolerated.
“Our mission with the NHP (Nevada Highway Patrol) is to reduce the number and severity of crashes,” said Capt. Dennis Osborn, commander of Reno urban operations for the NHP. “DUIs are a big contributor to that so this is something that is near and dear to our hearts.”
In Sparks, Adams says, those charged with a provable DUI will be forced to go to trial, will not be offered plea bargains and will be given the maximum penalty for their offense, be it their first, second, third or fourth DUI conviction.
This could mean at least a $1,000 fine, mandatory attendance at a DUI school, counseling, one night in jail including the bail fee, 12 days of community service and the offender’s name published in the newspaper. Those convicted of a DUI will also have to serve their community service time wearing “distinctive garb,” Adams added.
“Irrespective of whether you plead or go to trial, we will impose the maximum penalty,” he said.
According to a press release from the Nevada Highway Patrol, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends rank at the top of the crash list, second only to New Year’s, as the worst holiday weekends for DUI crashes and fatalities.
In 2009, more than 20,100 people were arrested statewide for driving under the influence. Also, of the 243 fatal crashes that happened across Nevada in 2009, 96 of them were because someone was found to be driving under the influence.
“Just recently, there was a 19-year-old woman who died east of Sparks,” Reno’s chief criminal Deputy City Attorney William Gardner said at the press conference, referencing the Monday alcohol-related car crash death of Reno resident Carla Rodriguez. “That tragedy exemplifies the problem.”
Through grant monies, additional police will be patrolling the streets over the Labor Day weekend. DUI checkpoints will also be set up, according to NHP trooper Chuck Allen.
According to NHP statistics, DUI-related crashes made up 5.7 percent of all crashes in northern Nevada in fiscal year 2010, which ended at the end of June. In addition, 1,114 people in northern Nevada were arrested for driving under the influence and 204 of those arrests came after the DUI offender had crashed into someone else. In fiscal year 2009, the NHP arrested 1,318 people in northern Nevada for driving under the influence.
“The message is, don’t drink and drive, especially in Sparks,” Adams said. “We will do everything we can to make you pay for it.”
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