The Antelope Valley Times

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Lancaster checkpoint nets 31 arrests, none for DUI

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LANCASTER – A DUI checkpoint in Lancaster this past Friday (Aug. 1) netted more than two dozen arrests for various offenses, including grand theft auto and outstanding warrants; however, no arrests were made for driving under the influence, authorities said.

The checkpoint was conducted between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Avenue K at Elm Avenue.

The results are as follows:

* 1414 traveled vehicles through the checkpoint.

* 1332 were drivers checked at the checkpoint.

* 10 drivers were given field sobriety tests.

* 17 unlicensed drivers were arrested and sent to court.

* Nine suspended license drivers were arrested and sent to court.

* One vehicle owner was arrested for allowing an unlicensed driver to drive and sent to court.

* One grand theft auto suspect was arrested and sent to court.

* One $40,000 misdemeanor warrant suspect was arrested and sent to court.

* One $26,000 misdemeanor warrant suspect was arrested and sent to court.

* One $278 misdemeanor warrant suspect was arrested and sent to court.

* Six vehicles were stored for one day.

* Nine vehicles were impounded for 30 days.

* 11 vehicles were released per checkpoint release procedures.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.

Funding for the checkpoint is provided to Lancaster Sheriff’s Station by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

25 comments for "Lancaster checkpoint nets 31 arrests, none for DUI"

  1. With all them likker events Lancaster puts on no wonders they have so many DUI checkpoints. Come to the Fair and get likkered! Come to the Jethawks for $2 beer night and get likkered! Come to Streets of Lancaster and get likkered! Come to Fields of Drafts and get likkered!

  2. The entire city proper of Los Angeles(4 million people) doesn’t even focus on DUI’s to the extent they do in itsy-bitsy, slow and spread out, low density, less than urban Antelope Valley.

  3. http://www.shouselaw.com/dui-checkpoint.html Is a great place to learn what your rights are at a checkpoint. I think they are a good idea. The only reason I can think of to avoid one is because I am doing something wrong. It takes as much time as a little traffic or a stop light and you are on your way. This checkpoint may not have caught a DUI but it did catch people that were breaking the law.

  4. Just another excuse for the police to help Michael D. Antonovich courthouse to make money. $$$

  5. Whenever I read comments from people who are violently opposed to DUI checkpoints (you can hear their emotional reaction in their posts) I just assume they are alcoholics or drug users or they wouldn’t be so upset.

    There are a lot of things involved with driving that are upsetting such as accidents that tie up traffic or a slow car in the fast or car pool lane but when someone complains about DUI checkpoints, pretending they are strict adherents to the Constitution, they’ve got ‘issues’ most likely with their own alcohol and/or drug use.

    It’s the booze talking.

    • You don’t have to be an alcoholic to get a DUI. People get DUI’s standing next to vehicles or even being the passenger. It’s mainly about money, arrest stats, and keeping as many people possible on probation and bringing in that precious revenue.

  6. It is NOT your right to drive, it is your priviledge. If you break the law, you invalidate your priviledge. I’m all for the law enforcement ENFORCING the law that so many of us follow without question as a matter of safety. They post the check points before they happen. If you don’t like it, don’t go through it. If you don’t like the AV leave it. If you can’t leave the AV, what are you doing to make it better?

  7. Listen to all the AV’ers defending DUI checkpoints that don’t even catch one DUI out 1414 vehicles. Maybe the unofficial checkpoint notification system is becoming more comprehensive and effective-otherwise known as normal people.

    • If they didn’t catch a single DUI, isn’t that a success…?

      Think about it for a second……. think about it….. got it..?

      • No it is not a success, genius. It’s an excuse to shake people down for cash.

        • If they are stopped and found to be breaking the law, that really isn’t a shake down. They just may not have been caught otherwise.

          Look a the list of arrests, they were all doing something illegal. I sure would not be happy if one of those unlicensed drivers hit me since they cannot legally obtain insurance.

      • Success, you think that no DUI drivers were on the road, no they avoid checkpoints therefore do not get caught by checkpoints…..

  9. I never drive drunk. I don’t drink. I don’t even smoke. I am a licensed and insured professional driver. And I think these DUI checkpoints are unconstitutional. And I don’t care what the courts say. Honest, legal drivers are being detained without any reason or probable cause. I cannot be pulled over without legal cause, so why can I be effectively stopped at one of these checkpoints. Yes, I know they catch the occasional drunk driver, but at what cost to the constitutional rights of all the other drivers who are detained?

    • @The Constitutional Scholar

      “And I think these DUI checkpoints are unconstitutional. And I don’t care what the courts say.”

      I believe that the courts are provided for in the Constitution. They have the final say in most instances.

      Read it. You may be a professional driver but you’re an amateur at the Constitution. In fact, your ‘license’ to practice law should be revoked.

    • That is your right to feel that they are unconstitutional, but more learned men and women disagree with you.

      SCOTUS has repeatedly decided that this type of check point is legal.

      If it makes you feel better, it was a split decision, not all judges feel that it is ok. There are 11 states that prohibit this type of roadblock since it was left up to each individual state in the end.

      • You know, I wish I was an illegal alien. That way I could drive without a license along with not having to prove I have insurance. I would receive more benefits that our returning war vets: Medical, food, housing etc. Being an American citizen is a bummer!