He Needs A New Girlfriend Now.

Looking a man? Okay, well he's not exactly a "man", other than the chronological sense, but he's back on the market, nevertheless.

Matthew Henry Fleming, 22, may be just the guy you're looking for. Of course, you may have to get used to him blaming you for leading the police on high-speed chases. You would also have to be understanding of his twenty-some prior charges and convictions. Here's a snip from azcentral: [full article]

Chandler police have arrested a man they believe fled from officers while driving drunk in south Chandler - then crashed the vehicle, jumped into his girlfriend's lap and told police she was the driver, court records show.

Police arrested Matthew Henry Fleming, 22, Wednesday on suspicion of unlawful flight, endangerment and DUI, police said.

You never know, he could be a great catch. Then again, there may be a long wait....

Sorry, ladies.

Stupidity and Another Innocent Victim

Sunday is the only day that I work in the morning, due to my husband's work schedule. I mainly work in the evenings. Because of this fact, there are some co-workers that I only see on Sundays.

When one of my co-workers was dropped off by a vehicle, which was not the vehicle he normally drives or arrives in, I was a little curious and admittedly-nosy. So I asked him where his car was.

He had crashed his car. He was speeding and totalled it. Of course, naturally, I had to ask if he was drinking and driving. He said he was, and also added that he had spent 3 days in jail, and had a court date. If I had more time, I probably would have said more. I probably would have mentioned the fact that he had a little baby. I probably would have asked him how he would feel if he had killed someone. I probably would have asked him how he would feel if some drunk person had run down him and killed someone, like his child, or his child's mother. But, I didn't. I sure plan to, though.

There's another case though that needs to be heard. Another innocent victim, a little girl. Her story is in the news, but yet she is another victim whose name we do not know. Here is a snip of the online article from the Arizona Republic.

Police say Wilson Gilberto Alba-Cano, 27, was the driver in a hit-and-run accident that killed a 5-year-old girl Sunday afternoon in south Phoenix. Alba-Cano, was reportedly intoxicated, when he collided with another vehicle at Seventh Avenue and Roeser Road, Phoenix police spokeswoman Stacie Derge said.

Another innocent victim of an alleged drunk driver. And the guy just drove away, until he plowed into a fence, it seems.

I hate to be a pessimist-- but already knowing how easily these drunk drivers get off, only to do the same thing over, and over--I can already see a probable defense for this guy. Another quote from the article:

Police said it appears that some of the children in the truck were not wearing seatbelts.

Of course, when you have four children, ages 3-7, it's not okay for them to be riding in a vehicle without seatbelts. That doesn't excuse the alleged drunk driver from killing this little girl. She is still the victim here. But of course, the justice system usually finds a way to blame the victim.

Source: Arizona Republic

Deadly Weapons, Innocent Lives, and Intent

When we think of deadly weapons, we usually think of guns, knives-things of that nature.

What about your car? Would you ever consider your car a “deadly weapon”? Your car, in and of itself, may not be a deadly weapon, but add alcohol to the driver-“ammunition”, if you will-suddenly the car becomes a dangerous, deadly weapon.

We have the DUI task-force and checkpoints out every holiday. We have organizations such as Mother’s Against Drunk Driving. Both are great in their efforts.

What concerns me is the amount of DUI’s a person is able to rack up, and serve little or no time in jail. What concerns me is how, I could go into a room full of strangers, intentionally fire a gun, killing or attempting to kill as many people as possible and be charged with multiple counts of murder, as well as attempted murder. Yet, a person who gets behind the wheel of a car intentionally drunk, on a street full of strangers, driving aimlessly, killing innocent people-they are charged with manslaughter or second-degree murder. Let’s not forget the word “intent”. If you drink to the point that you are legally drunk, then drive, it should be a given that you intend to take an innocent person’s life. Doesn’t this warrant a harsher punishment?

In the last couple weeks, we have seen our community mourn the loss of Julia Sunderlin, an innocent woman, performing an everyday task in her life-walking her dog. The people that allegedly killed her, perfect strangers, were allegedly drunk and on their way to buy more beer. They are charged with manslaughter in this case. Had they walked up to her on the side of the road, shot and killed her, they would more than likely be charged with first-degree murder.

Intent.

There are more than enough examples of multiple DUI offenders. There are more than enough examples of ridiculous sentences that DUI offenders receive after killing an innocent person, again-perfect strangers.

A car with a drunk person behind the wheel is a deadly weapon. Nobody gets behind the wheel drunk, involuntarily. A punishment should fit the crime.

Think intent.