Just weeks after a DC DUI lawyer successfully defended Washington Redskins cornerback Byron Westbrook against DUI charges, a former Redskin was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Quinton Ganther, who was a running back last season with the Washington Redskins, was arrested around 3:15 a.m. on July 10. He was booked into jail and released on $1,482 bail. The Seahawks, with whom Ganther has been signed, had no comment other than to say, "We are aware of the situation, and in the process of gathering information."

The running back is not the only Seahawks team member to be arrested this off-season. Linebacker Leroy Hill was arrested in April and charged with assault and domestic violence. His trial is set to begin at the end of the month. Safety Kevin Ellison, who was signed by the Seahawks this month, was arrested in May while he was still on the Chargers' roster. Ellison is accused of possession of Vicodin without a valid prescription. The Chargers waived him after the alleged offense, and he was signed by the Seahawks. The Chargers are facing their own DUI woes, suspending receiver Vincent Jackson after his second DUI conviction earlier this year. According to the NFL rumor mill, the Redskins are considering attempting to trade for Jackson.

If Washington picks up Vincent Jackson, he and Byron Westbrook will not be the only two Redskins arrested for alcohol related offenses in 2010. In June, Redskins guard Chad Rinehart was found guilty of public intoxication stemming from a January incident. He was ordered to pay $195 in fines and court fees.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer blog or Virginia DUI Attorney website.

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Despite the arguments of his Washington DC Criminal Defense Attorney, a man accused of slaying two store clerks during a botched robbery attempt was ordered held until his preliminary hearing on August 3. While his public defender argued that Christian Taylor, 25, should be released because he has no prior record of violent offenses, a DC Superior Court judge disagreed after noting that the suspect tested positive for cocaine after his arrest.

Taylor's arrest came after he was identified on surveillance video as the man who shot and killed a men's clothing store owner and his son while attempting to rob the store. The video shows a man entering the store and brandishing a handgun, ordering the clerk, Li-Jen Chih, to place money into a bag. After the suspect placed the gun in the bag, Chih attempted to wrestle it away from the suspect. The suspect then stood and fired the gun at the clerk, whose father rushed in upon hearing the gunshots. After Ming-Kun Chih attempted to knock the gun out of the suspect's hands, the shooter fired at him before tucking the gun into the waistband of his pants and fleeing the store.
Witnesses identified the car in which the suspect fled, and one recorded the vehicle's tag number. The car was traced to Taylor's mother, and he was subsequently identified as the shooter on the surveillance video.

Christian Taylor has been charged with two counts of first degree felony murder.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Maryland Criminal Attorney and Virginia Criminal Attorney websites.

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Actress Lindsay Lohan is once again making headlines related to her 2007 DUI conviction. When we originally brought you Lohan's story on our DC Criminal Defense Attorney blog, the actress had just been sentenced to wearing an alcohol monitoring device on her ankle after missing a mandatory hearing. The judge had sentenced Lohan to wearing the SCRAMx device after Lohan repeatedly neglected her obligations regarding her DUI conviction. Now, Lohan has been sentenced to jail time after continuing to violate the terms of her probation.

Under her probation conditions Lohan was required to attend weekly alcohol education classes. After missing seven classes since December, Lohan was forced to appear before a judge, who was unmoved by Lohan's apology. The judge sentenced the "Mean Girls" actress to 90 days in jail and 90 days of inpatient alcohol treatment, a much stiffer penalty than prosecutors requested. The judge listed a number of ways in which Lohan continually defied the rulings of the court and stated, "There were a number of instances of [Lohan] not taking things seriously. It's like someone who cheats but doesn't think it's cheating if they don't get caught." She said that Lohan repeatedly lied to the court and continued to blame others for her own failure to comply with court decisions.

The latest in the Lindsay Lohan saga comes after her 2007 DUI conviction in which she pled guilty to being under the influence of cocaine and pleaded no contest to reckless driving and driving with a BAC over .08. She served 84 minutes of a four-day jail sentence in that case. Since then, she has been ordered to attend alcohol educations classes, which she repeatedly missed, and forced to wear an alcohol monitoring device, which was triggered by a BAC reading of .03 at after-parties following the MTV Movie Awards.

While the actress is sentenced to 90 days in jail, officials say that she will probably serve much less, reporting that non-violent female offenders generally serve only 25% of their sentence.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a DC DUI defense firm also serving Maryland. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer and DC DUI Lawyer websites.

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A charity fundraiser turned deadly when an SUV veered into a line of motorcycles riding in memory of a Windham police officer. A motorcycle passenger was killed and two drivers injured when a Chevy Blazer struck them, sending them into the guardrail. One of the injured victims was treated and released from a local hospital; the other was airlifted in critical condition to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

The driver of the SUV, Randall Stewart, 46, was alleged to be driving while intoxicated at the time of the accident. Numerous area police departments received word of his Chevy Blazer driving erratically before the crash. Officers participating in the Knight Ride charity motorcycle event noticed Stewart's vehicle and tried to get him to slow down; however, before they could do so, Stewart swerved into the opposite lane and struck two motorcycles. Police at the scene noted that Stewart seemed markedly impaired, saying that he "couldn't stand up straight" and "he couldn't put together a coherent sentence."

Stewart admitted to police that he had taken a prescription painkiller earlier that morning, but denied consuming any alcohol. However, only 12 hours before the accident, Stewart was charged with a class A misdemeanor DWI as a second offense under New Hampshire DWI laws. He was previously convicted of his first DWI in 2005.

While it is not unusual for a New Hampshire DWI lawyer to see repeat offenders, it is unusual that someone would be charged with the crime twice in 24 hours. Officers report that the first incident was "kind of a routine DWI." Stewart was arrested after motorists observed him driving erratically without headlights. After his arrest, Stewart was issued a summons to appear in court, and police officers drove him home. Several hours later, he was again charged with DWI after the accident that claimed the life of a 49-year-old woman. New Hampshire DWI laws stipulate that a DWI accident that causes serious injury is considered "aggravated DWI." As such, Stewart has been charged with negligent homicide, aggravated driving while intoxicated and two counts of felony reckless conduct. He is in police custody with bail set at $100,000.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, serving Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia. Please visit Maryland Criminal Lawyer and Virginia DUI Lawyer.

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According to his Maryland criminal attorney, the former chief financial officer of the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau is expected to plead guilty to charges of theft from a program receiving federal funds. Benjamin L. King, Jr., CFO of Legal Aid from 1978 to 2008, is accused of conspiring with Wendell Jackson to steal from the organization through an inflated invoicing scheme in which the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau overpaid for office supplies from a company that the two men created. Jackson allegedly sent fraudulent invoices which overcharged for purchased products, and King paid the invoices with Legal Aid funds. The men pocketed the difference in the real price and the inflated price, with King alleged to have received 85% of the embezzled funds.

Federal prosecutors estimate that King and Jackson used the scheme to steal $1.1 million from the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau between 2004 and 2007. Prosecutors say approximately $275,000 of that amount came from federal funds supporting the public interest organization. King's lawyer, however, says that while his client is ready to plead guilty to charges of stealing from the Bureau, he disputes the amount. King's defense lawyer claims that the involvement of another person in the scheme makes the exact amount difficult to determine, calling the situation "murky." King and his attorney estimate the amount to be over $400,000, but say it falls short of $1 million--a federal sentencing guidelines threshold.

King's alleged partner is also expected to plead guilty later this month to charges resulting from the scheme.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal defense firm serving Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our DC Criminal Defense Attorney and Virginia Criminal Lawyer websites.

Continue reading "DC Fraud Lawyer: Former Legal Aid CFO to Plead Guilty to Maryland Embezzlement Charges" »