Posts Tagged ‘Celebrity DWI’

Murder conviction after DUI in Nick Adenhart case

Posted on Sep 30, 2010

Nick Adenhart had everything going for him. At age 22, he was a major league basketball starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He also played for the Salt Lake Bees in 2008. But this promising young rookie’s life was cut short on April 9, 2009. Adenhart and two of his friends, 25 year old Henry Pearsons and 20 year old Courtney Stewart were killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. The fourth passenger, Jon Wilhite was seriously injured

Andrew Gallo – The man accused of killing Angel’s pitcher Nick Adenhart

Andrew Gallo, a 23 year old construction worker was driving with a blood alcohol level of three times the legal limit, was found guilty by a panel of jurors for the murder of Adenhart. According to reports, Gallo drank at three separate bars drinking beers and shots before running a red light and crashing into a car killing Adenhart and his two friends, and severely injuring the fourth occupant. Reports also mention that this was Gallo’s second drinking under the influence (DUI) conviction.

Jury Deliberations in Adenhart Case

Gallo was found guilty on three counts of second degree murder. He was also convicted of drunk driving, fleeing the scene, driving under the influence of alcohol, and causing serious bodily injury, for which he received single counts for each of those charges. According to reports, Gallo told police he had no recollection of driving and apologized to the victims’ families.

Andrew Gallo Could Spend 50 Years to Life Behind Bars

Gallo is scheduled to appear back in court mid December for sentencing. He is looking at 50 years to life in the big house. However, in order for Gallo to receive a murder conviction, prosecutors have to convince jurors that Gallo was fully aware of his actions, intentionally drove while his driving was impaired by alcohol, acted with implied malice and wasn’t concern about the possibility of taking someone’s life.

Did Gallo Know The Dangers Of Drinking And Driving?

Gallo’s attorney, Jacqueline Goodman said they will appeal the case against her client because he did not intent to kill anyone. But Gallo knew the dangers of drinking and driving, because his last DUI conviction in 2006, Gallo had signed court documents acknowledging that he is aware that if he drove drunk again and killed someone he could be charged with murder.

So did Gallo intend to kill someone? Of course not, but he did. Apparently he did not learn his lesson from the first conviction and his action clearly showed that he just didn’t care.

Adenhart died just after pitching his first start of 2009. He pitched six scoreless innings in his second debut.

George Michael arrested for DUI

Posted on Sep 17, 2010

Most of you remember George Michael, the singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s. His first solo single, “Careless Whisper” was released selling about six million copies worldwide. He was also a member of one of the most successful band of the 80s Wham! Well, on July 4, 2010 around 3:30 in the morning Michael crashed his Range Rover into Snappy Snaps photo-printing storefront close to his home in Hampstead, north London while allegedly being under the influence of cannabis. According to reports, Michael was driving home just after attending a ‘Gay Pride’ parade in London.

George Michael Found Spaced Out On Drugs

According to police reports, when they found Michael, he was passed out behind the wheel of his motor vehicle, looking a bit dazed and confused. The police officer also found two marijuana cigarettes still in his possession. Michael, 47 was arrested on July 4 in north London and was released on bail.

George Michael Ongoing Legal Problems

Michael appeared in court to face charges were he pleaded guilty on both charges; driving under the influence of drugs and possessing cannabis. This is not his first incident with the law. Back in 2007, Michael pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of drugs. He lost his driving privileges for two years and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. This arrest comes just a few months after receiving his driving privileges back following his prior two-year driving suspension.

The Verdict

George Michael was found guilty for DUI and drug possession and was sentenced to eight weeks in jail, by officials at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in London. His eight weeks sentence will be divided between prison time and parole. He was also fined $1,250 and his driving privileges were taken away yet again, but this time for five years. Final ruling is scheduled for September 14.

George Michael broke his promise to his Fans

George Michael wrote an apology letter to his fans back in 2007 when he was also arrested for drug possession. He apologized for the incident and told them that immediately after the incident he had checked himself into a rehab treatment clinic to deal with his drug addiction. He apparently stayed in a detox program for 14 days in London. He also stated that he was also receiving ongoing outpatient drug counseling a few times a week to deal with his drug problems.

He made a promise to his fans that he would “sort himself out.” So what went wrong?

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DWI Crashes and Celebrities – Image maker or breaker?

Posted on May 10, 2010

The life of a celebrity is all about the image. Celebrities go through a lot of strain to ensure that their name and face remains in the minds of promoters and fans. Some resort to unconventional publicity while some are always there due to their life styles.

Most DWI offenders will be negatively impacted by the charge, let alone celebrities who are obligated to their fans to keep a squeaky-clean image. Most fans become let down by this type of behavior and are becoming frustrated with the behavior of celebrities who should know better.

DWI Crashes and Celebrities - Image Breaker

Celebrities lose TV Contracts because of DWI

Just like in the case of Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps, no sponsor wants to be associated with any celebrity who has been associated with anything negative or has a bad image. We have seen this pattern also emerging in the movie industry where as soon as an actor runs afoul of the law especially DWIs, some way is found to remove them from the set. Examples of this trend exist in TV hit sitcoms such as LOST where actor Daniel Dae Kim who plays a Korean officer will soon be killed, thus removing him from the show as a result of him being pulled over on suspicion of drinking and driving.

Another TV hit that followed the same trend was Hawaii 5-0. Anna Lucia, Adinnuoye Agbaje and Libby were all removed from the set due to DWI arrest in 2005. Although various reasons were given before they were shot and killed in a hit and run TV accident respectively, insiders will tell you that their demise was due to the bad publicity they had brought to the show.

DWIs bring many Sports Stars to their Knees

Many sports enthusiast would have been aware of the exploits of football star Paul Gascoigne with alcohol consumption. Gazza, as he is affectionately known by his fans, was one of England’s most talented footballers, feared by most goalkeepers and played a vital role in England reaching the world cup semifinals in 1990. However, he was unable to control his drinking habits. Constantly being pulled over by police on the suspicion of DWI, he started to miss training due to either being too drunk or being locked up for driving while drunk. All this continued until his club managers became frustrated and released him out of his contract. This lead to a complete downhill slide that resulted Gazza admitted into rehab.

DWI the Image Breaker

While a few celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson or Shia Lebeouf may have somehow found a way to be not affected seriously in the public’s eye and may seem to get away get away with DWI, most are not afforded that luxury. Many fall from grace just a s fast as they went up and drives home the point that celebrity DWI is more of an image breaker than an than an image maker.

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