Rochester drivers who are repeatedly arrested for drinking and driving often will be charged with enhanced criminal offenses and face additional penalties.
They also face greater penalties when found to have an extremely high blood alcohol content.
The offense of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated Per Se as a Class D Felony is a very serious criminal charge that extremely intoxicated repeat offenders may face.
For a first time offender, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated per se is a misdemeanor.
It may be charged where a driver has undergone a blood alcohol test which resulted in a score of .18% or greater.
This is more than twice the legal limit of .08%. Aside from this, all that is necessary to support the misdemeanor charge is proof that the driver was operating a vehicle on a public highway, a private road open to the public, or in a lot with parking for four or more vehicles not attached to a one or two family residence.
It does not need to be shown that the defendant was driving erratically.
For a repeat offender, this offense may be enhanced from a misdemeanor to a D felony if it can also be proven that the driver previously had been convicted – on two separate occasions – for any combination of the following offenses:
- Driving While Intoxicated; Driving While Intoxicated per se; Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated;
- Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs;
- Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combination of Alcohol and Drugs;
- or any of various vehicular assault, vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide charges arising from driving under the influence of alcohol.
Both of the prior offenses must have taken place within ten years of the current arrest.
This is a very serious criminal charge, and anyone arrested for this offense needs an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
If you have been arrested for DWI, please call us at 585-484-7432 for legal help.