Tampa DUI Lawyers Whittel & Melton :: Former NBA Player Loren G. Woods Accused of DUI

April 5, 2012

Former NBA player Loren G. Woods, 33, faces DUI and bribery of a public servant charges after being stopped in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Records show he was arrested at 4:05 a.m. on a misdemeanor DUI charge and on a felony charge of bribing a public servant.

He allegedly refused a breath test.

He was transported to the Hillsborough County Jail and later released on $2,500 bail.

The 7-foot-1, 300-pound center spent six years in the NBA, playing one season with the Miami Heat in 2003 and his final season with the Houston Rockets in 2008.

Following a routine arrest for DUI in Florida, the arresting officer will generally request the driver submit to a breath test by blowing into a breath machine commonly referred to as the “breathalyzer” or “Intoxilyzer 8000.” What is important to understand is that an arresting officer has no way of forcing a driver into taking a breath test. Many times drivers will decline this test. By declining the test, the officer may allege that your behavior or actions constitute a refusal to submit to a breath test. This refusal can be met under the following conditions:

1. You were abusive or argumentative with the arresting officer.
2. Refusing to answer “yes” or “no” after the officer asks you to submit to a DUI breath test.
3. Agreeing to take a breath test, but failing to blow an adequate amount of air into the machine to register a reading.
4. Agreeing to take a breath test once, but failing to provide a second sample within a 15 minute window of time.

The following civil and criminal consequences can occur if you refuse to submit to a breath test following a DUI arrest in Florida:

• The arresting officer can take your license and administratively suspend all driving
• privileges immediately after the arrest. To combat this, you generally must request a formal review hearing within 10 days of your arrest.
• The prosecutor can argue that your refusal equates to an admission of guilt, sometimes called “consciousness of guilt.”

Prosecutors refer to Florida DUI cases that involve a driver who declines to provide a breath sample as “DUI refusal to submit” or “DUI refusal BAC.” The Florida DUI Defense Lawyers can help you fight the charges against you, including the administrative suspension of your license and the criminal case that follow a DUI arrest. Many DUI refusal cases are resolved without a conviction, but it is important to act quickly to effectively attack the charges.

If you were arrested for DUI after refusing to submit to a breath test in Tampa or elsewhere in the state of Florida, contact the Florida DUI Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton online or call our Hillsborough County office at 813-221-3200 or dial us statewide and toll-free at 1-866-608-5LAW (5529).