Tennesseans who know actor Christopher McDonald of “Happy Gilmore” fame might be interested to hear that the actor was recently charged with driving under the influence of alcohol for the second time. According to law enforcement officials with the San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened in California on Oct. 28.
The California Highway Patrol took McDonald into custody at 9:27 p.m. following an incident in which his vehicle reportedly left the road and struck a gas meter. McDonald was later booked into the Big Bear Jail at 11:40 p.m. and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.08 percent. The reports do not indicate what his actual BAC was, however.
In Oct. 2013, McDonald was charged with drunk driving by law enforcement officers in Wilmington, North Carolina. At that time, McDonald characterized the incident as unfortunate and stated that he was not actually driving at the time he was stopped. Under North Carolina law, however, people do not have to be physically moving their vehicles at the times of their stops to be charged with drunk driving.
Drunk driving charges may lead to significant consequences, and the penalties may be much more severe when the defendants have prior DUI offenses. People who are facing DUI charges may want to talk to criminal defense lawyers who are experienced in handling charges of drunk driving before they decide to plead guilty. Defense lawyers might be able to secure more favorable plea agreements than the defendants may be able to obtain on their own. The lawyers may be able to identify legal problems with the state’s cases against their clients.
