It's not unusual to hear of someone getting multiple DUIs, but five in as many weeks? Come on! Vineland, N.J. police arrested Anderson Sotomayor Wednesday when they caught him weaving down the road, sipping on an open can of beer as he drove. He had also taken Oxycontin for which he had no prescription.
We're not sure what's going on in Mr. Sotomayor's life — neighbors say he's a recent amputee whose wife left him, and that he keeps to himself — but driving around town hammered on a regular basis isn't the way to ameliorate whatever ills he suffers.
Including this most recent arrest, Sotomayor has received a total of five DUIs over the last five weeks. State officials told the Press of Atlantic City that he was charged with two other DUIs in 1989 and 1992, and that his license had been suspended 23 times since his first DUI.
But by some crack in New Jersey law, Sotomayor makes his way back behind the wheel after every arrest. State law puts a limit on the amount of an arrestee's bail, and also how long a car can be impounded. The only way they've been able to keep him from driving drunk after this last arrest is because a weekend judge said he wasn't authorized to set bail for traffic cases, leaving Sotomayor stuck in jail for a few days.
What happens when he's released? Precedent dictates that he'll go straight for the booze and take off again. Assemblyman Nelson Albano, whose 19-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver in 2001, is trying to enact legislation that will make it possible to hold repeat drunk driving offenders in stir for longer. Until then, they'll have to worry about guys like Sotomayor hitting the road as soon as they're sprung. (Hat tip to Brett!)
Photo credit: Vineland Police Department