Santa Clarita Criminal Defense Lawyer

SANTA CLARITA CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND DUI LAWYER
Santa Clarita, CA has a population of over 200,000 people, making it one of the five biggest cities in LA County.  Located approximately 35 miles north/northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Clarita is located in between LA's San Fernando Valley and the Antelope Valley.  Santa Clarita includes Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and is nearby Palmdale, Lancaster, San Fernando, Pacoima, Castaic, Sylmar, Northridge and Chatsworth.  Santa Clarita is also close to Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park, as well as the Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility.

Santa Clarita, despite its population is very suburban, with many new development homes, shopping centers and parks.  Santa Clarita covers much more land (nearly twice as many square miles) as comparably populated Glendale.  Santa Clarita also has very low crime for a city of its size.  Like many regions in LA County, Santa Clarita does not have its own police force.  Instead, the LA County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services for Santa Clarita, with California Highway Patrol having jurisdiction of the freeways (the 5 and 14).

Despite low crime rates, there are arrests and criminal charges in Santa Clarita.  Criminal and traffic matters are prosecuted by theLA County District Attorney and are heard at the LA Superior Court's Santa Clarita (Newhall) Courthouse.  The LA County Sheriff's and the District Attorney are very committed to DUI and Domestic Violence enforcement in Santa Clarita, much like the rest of the county.  Sheriffs receive extensive training in DUI enforcement and domestic violence investigations and interrogations.  They also checkpoints and saturation points, devoting a lot of time and resources to DUI enforcement.  The District Attorney aggressively prosecutes DUI and has special units assigned to Domestic Violence cases.

Drug crimes are not uncommon in Santa Clarita.  With crimes ranging in severity from pills and marijuana to meth and heroin, and from possession, up to sales, transportation or manufacture of a controlled substance, drug crimes do happen, even in safe communities.  Less frequently, there are theft crimes, weapons offenses, sex crimes and violent crimes.

If you have been charged with a crime in Santa Clarita, or arrested in Santa Clarita, nearby, or anywhere else in LA, contact Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Nicholas Loncar for a free consultation.  Your consultation will help you understand the court process, the possible consequences, and the defenses available to you in your specific case.

EXAMPLE OF A SANTA CLARITA ARREST AND CRIMINAL CASE:
Kelly is celebrating her 22nd birthday with her friends at a popular bar in Santa Clarita.  Kelly parked her car in a friend's driveway nearby, and is not planning to drive home.  She has had a lot to drink, taking shots with her friends throughout the evening.  Although Kelly does not usually use any drugs, she took some Valium and used cocaine this night.  Additionally, she still has a small bag of cocaine in her purse.  Kelly and two friends leave the bar for a minute, planning to go to Kelly's car to do some cocaine.  Just as Kelly presses the unlock button to unlock her car doors, an LA County Sheriff's Deputy, who had been watching them since leaving the bar, approached and ordered Kelly to put her keys down and walk over to him.

Drunk, and scared, Kelly walks over to the officer, smelling like alcohol, swaying and appearing visibly intoxicated.  The officer asks her where she was going and she said that were just going to get something from the car.  The officer then asks her to perform a series of field sobriety tests.  Kelly takes her shoes off and tries to perform the tests as instructed, but repeatedly loses her balance.  Next, the officer asks her to blow into a Preliminary Alcohol Screen (PAS) device and she does.  It is important to note that Kelly has a right to refuse both the field sobriety tests and the PAS, giving the officer less evidence to use against her.  The test results show Kelly's BAC is .26, more than three times the legal limit.  While PAS tests are not 100% accurate, the high reading, paired with Kelly's performance on the field sobriety tests is strong evidence that Kelly is too impaired to drive.  She is arrested for DUI and transported to the police station.

At the station, Kelly is asked to perform a chemical test, and chooses to do a breath test.  Her BAC is now .23.  Kelly wisely chose to submit a breath, rather than blood test, being that her blood would also have evidence of the drugs in her system.  Upon booking, the officer searches Kelly's bag and finds cocaine.  Now, she is charged with Driving Under the Influence (VC 23152(a) and VC 23152(b)) and Possession of a Controlled Substance (HS 11350).

Kelly bails out of jail and hires a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney and DUI Lawyer to assert her rights and fight the charges against her.  Her lawyer first attempts to negotiate with the DA and the police, explaining that Kelly was not going to drive, and that she should not be charged with DUI.  The DA files the case anyway, and the police submit the arrest to the DMV.  Kelly's lawyer wins the DMV hearing, noting that there was no evidence of driving in this case.  In court, Kelly's lawyer files a motion to suppress pursuant to PC 1538.5 at her preliminary hearing.  The lawyer argues that the police did not have probable cause for arrest in the case.  That without evidence of driving, a reasonable officer could not arrest Kelly for DUI.  Moreover, since the search that yielded the cocaine was incident to that arrest, it should be suppressed as it violated Kelly's Fourth Amendment rights.

The judge grants the motion to suppress the evidence, and dismisses the DUI, on grounds that there was no evidence that Kelly drove a car.  It was quite the contrary, the officer knew that she did not drive.  This is the best outcome, but is only possible with skilled and knowledgeable legal work.  Filing the right motions and making the right arguments in court make a huge difference in the outcome and consequences of a criminal case.


Being arrested and facing criminal charges is scary.  It's nerve-racking.  And it can change your life forever.  The most important move you can make is to have a passionate, skilled LA criminal defense attorney on your side.  Contact Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Nicholas Loncar now for a free consultation to see what defenses you might have and how you can avoid negative consequences in your case.

Nicholas M. Loncar, Esq.
Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney
t. 818-646-8788 | f: 818-646-8772
MOBILE: 323-803-4352
www.iDefendLosAngeles.com
[email protected]
12198 Ventura Blvd | Suite 207
Studio City, CA | 91604

Published By: Nicholas Loncar | Written by Nicholas Loncar