Do Multiple Charges for One DUI Event Mean Consecutive Sentences in Virginia?
May 28, 2019
A man now faces charges after taking police on a high-speed chase, in a stolen car, while under the influence of methamphetamine.
A Wise County deputy was flagged down on May 22, 2019, by a citizen who wanted to report a stolen car at around 3:30 p.m. The deputy was flagged down around Kent Junction Road in Appalachia, Virginia. The deputy reported the stolen vehicle information to other officers.
Nearly as soon as the broadcast went out, another deputy noticed the vehicle on Birchfield Road in Wise, VA. The deputy attempted to make a stop of the vehicle, but as soon as the attempt was made the vehicle accelerated in an apparent attempt to flee police.
According to the report, the driver drove recklessly, passed a school bus, and drove through a yard on Birchfield Road. The driver then turned onto Stevens Street and headed in the direction of another school bus. The deputy used his patrol car to push the driver off of the road, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with the bus.
The driver then attempted to flee again but instead hit a home and came to a stop. The deputy was able to arrest two other subjects that were still in the car, but the driver attempted to leave the scene of the accident. The Town of Wise Police and UVA-Wise College Police were able to take down the driver a short distance from the scene.
The driver was later identified as Brendon Austin Caige Hill. During his arrest, he admitted to having "smoked a lot of meth earlier." Deputies at the scene also recovered a firearm, methamphetamine smoking device, and unidentified pills.
Hill now faces criminal charges of:
driving under the influence of drugs (DUI drugs);
fleeing law enforcement;
obstruction of justice;
failure to drive on the right side of the highway;
failure to maintain control; and
resisting arrest.
Potential for Consecutive Penalties
When a person is charged with multiple offenses stemming from a single DUI related arrest, it is likely the judge will run any active jail sentences consecutively. This means that the judge can run the charges one right after the other.
Understanding the exact rules a judge will follow to make this determination is very complex. Running charges consecutively is the opposite of running them concurrently. When charges are run concurrently, all the active jail sentences are served at the same time. In other words, if you receive 30 days in jail on two separate charges, both 30-day sentences will run at the same time. You would be released at 30 days. However, if the time is run consecutively, you would serve 60 days because you wouldn't start serving time on the second 30-day charge until after you've finished serving time on the first 30-day charge.
Consecutive charges can lead to very lengthy prison sentences that can steal your freedom away from you. With the help of an experienced attorney, there are defenses that can be raised to the offenses themselves. Your attorney can also argue against running the sentences consecutively and argue they should be run at the same time. This can greatly reduce the jail time you serve.
Contact an Experienced Virginia DUI Attorney
When you face multiple charges related to a DUI, the risk of consecutive charges should not be taken lightly. If charged with DUI, you have options to fight your charges. To protect your constitutional rights, you need Virginia DUI attorney Bryan J. Jones to defend your case.
Contact us today to schedule an initial consultation to discuss your case.