VENTURA, CA - District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that for the fourth consecutive year, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office was awarded a grant for “The Vertical Prosecution of Drug and Alcohol DUI Offenders and Repeat Offenders.” This grant totaling $360,065 funds the Drug and Alcohol DUI (Driving Under the Influence) Vertical Prosecution Team, comprised of two full-time deputy district attorneys devoted solely to drug and alcohol DUI prevention and prosecution.

The Drug and Alcohol DUI Vertical Prosecution Team is designed to aggressively prosecute impaired drivers within Ventura County, while simultaneously raising public awareness of the fatal consequences caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs, both illegal and prescription. Driving under the influence laws prohibit driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or more. In addition, whether or not the evidence establishes a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent, it is a crime to drive while impaired by alcohol, or a drug, or the combined influence of both, when the drivers’ mental or physical abilities are so impaired they can no longer drive with the caution of a sober person. Being legally entitled to use a drug such as a prescription is not a defense. In California, 23 percent of drivers in fatal crashes have tested positive for drug involvement. In 2012 there were 19 deaths and 519 serious injuries as a result of DUI crashes in Ventura County.

The team will review, file, prosecute, and litigate DUI cases from beginning to end. These cases range from misdemeanor DUI to felony DUI, vehicular homicide, and second-degree murder. The team targets repeat offenders and those in violation of probation, and works hand in hand with local law enforcement to apprehend defendants who have failed to appear in court. Prosecution team members will also work with the State’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program to expand knowledge and resources in the office by obtaining and delivering specialized training, including training in the emerging problem of drug-impaired driving. Team members will share information with peers and law enforcement personnel throughout the county and across the state.

The District Attorney’s Office is committed to seeking restitution for the victims of DUI, including agencies that provide law enforcement and emergency personnel in response to traffic collisions. Funding for the program comes from a grant by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.