In the world of DUI, sometimes it seems like anything is possible. To illustrate, people have been contacted by the police days after an alleged drunk driving incident as a part of a DUI investigation. Sounds odd, but it is possible and it has happened in Orange County before.
For example, let’s say that one Friday night “Mike” was drinking at a house party. 20 witnesses will readily say that they saw Mike down several beers and five or six shots of Fireball. After a night of binge drinking, Mike grabbed his keys and drove the five miles back to his house.
Mike made a mistake, but thankfully he made it back safely.
Little does Mike know, but one of the partygoers back at the house that evening didn’t like Mike, and in spite, he decided to call the cops a few days later and report Mike’s drunk driving. The next thing Mike knows, he receives a call from the police.
The police tell Mike that he is under investigation for driving under the influence and now they are requesting an interview. What should Mike do in this situation?
What a DUI Suspect Should Do in This Situation
First off, Mike or anyone else in this situation should NOT go into an interview without a DUI defense attorney, period.
Although the above situation is rare, law enforcement does have a one-year statute of limitations to prosecute someone for a misdemeanor DUI. So, the cops can investigate someone for DUI after the fact, especially if there were witnesses and someone took a video of the incident on their cellphone. This means that you can get charged with DUI even after you arrive safely home.
Under California law, the police are within their rights to investigate a DUI and possibly arrest a suspect, even days after the fact, however, they must be able to prove that the suspect was driving under the influence, and that can be difficult to do.
If you are being called in for questioning about an alleged DUI incident that was reported, know that you are under no obligation to answer the officers’ questions in an interview. But, you can’t ignore the ongoing investigation either.
You do want to contact an experienced DUI attorney in the county where the alleged offense took place before you speak with law enforcement. It would be a grave error on your part to chat with the police, no matter how casual, about a crime that they believe you committed.
You need to act fast to have an attorney speak to the investigator on your behalf. The reason the police are asking you for an interview is because they do not have sufficient evidence to prosecute.
Rather than risk saying or doing the wrong thing, have an experienced attorney handle the police on your behalf – let the professional head them off at the pass.
In the face of a DUI investigation, contact the Law Offices of Virginia L. Landry, Inc. for aggressive representation from Orange County’s one and only DUI Queen.