Ed Oliver arrested for DWI, unlawfully carrying a weapon

Wow. Now I’ve heard it all. Yes, this is Applewhite’s fault.

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If his BAC was below .15, there was no accident, and there were no children in the car, then this will almost certainly be a low level (Class B) misdemeanor. I wonder if Montgomery has a pre-trial diversion/pre-trial intervention program for first time offenders. If so, then he may be able to get this dismissed a la Tony Buzbee. He could later get that arrest record expunged.

He might also be able to get it dismissed by completing deferred adjudication. Later, he might be able to get that non-disclosed to all but certain state agencies.
Of course, we’ll have to wait for his BAC lab test to come back to know anything for sure. Even if he gets deferred or a PTI, he’ll still have to plea guilty in order to be eligible. Or at least, that would be the case in Washington County. You still have to admit that you committed the offense.

He can, of course, elect to have a trial, but if his BAC comes back from the lab as greater than .08…that could be risky.

As for the guns, unless they come back as reported stolen, that’s a misdemeanor offense as well. The dude should have gotten a license to carry. Too damned easy. TOO preventable.

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Stupid, stupid decision by Ed Oliver. But I won’t crucify him because I did the same thing thousands of times in my younger days. And yes, it was just as stupid when I did it. I’m lucky I never got in a wreck, never got arrested, never killed anyone.

And yes, I do blame Applewhite for my behavior as well. The fact that he was an eighth grade Catholic School student 275 miles away in a different state is no excuse for his failure to lead.

But seriously, I hope this opens Ed’s eyes and he learns his lesson. Same for Major.

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I hope he pulls it together. Not a good look.

it kind of bothers me how many here have decided to crucify his character for this…im not saying it is right, it was a dumb decision. but he is a coog, one of ours. i hope things situation is cleared up and he hires a driver or something.

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Excuse me Sir,
We do not register guns in our great State . In fact you are allowed to carry in your vehicle without a Carry License , under our “Castle Law” .This is per the briefing I got from my Gun Club .

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He can carry a handgun in the car without a license in TX if a) he owns the gun, b) he also owns the vehicle, and c) the gun isn’t in plain view.

But if the gun was sitting there in plain view, then yeah, he needed to have a license to carry.

I’m assuming that he had a gun sitting there in plain view, otherwise, that unlawful carry charge may not stand.

In any event, it’s TOO DAMNED EASY just to get a license to carry. Really dumb.

I think the unlawful carrying part is because he was under the influence.

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Thanks for the clarification.

I will remember to duck.

I pretty sure they have the pretrial intervention in all of texas. Having gone through it myself you surely learn your lesson!

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Indeed. That is an exception.

Another exception is that you cannot carry a handgun while engaging in criminal activity.

OOOF!!!

If his DWI stands, then he was arguably doing BOTH!!!

On top of that, he allegedly had an open container in his vehicle, which, though a Class C misdemeanor, is a PENAL CODE (as opposed to a transportation code) Class C misdemeanor, and as such, isn’t considered a mere traffic offense.

That’s another possible gun law violation (carrying a handgun while engaged in criminal activity).

UGH!!!

Not looking good for Ed. I’d have to see what the cops’ dash cam and body cam videos show to see if a) there was good probable cause for the stop, and b) he did indeed have an open container in the vehicle.

If the video evidence shows that the answers to both are “yes,” then Ed could be in a jam.

And if his blood tests come back from the lab with a BAC over .08, then he could be in an even bigger jam.

Not necessarily.

The District Attorney’s office where I work didn’t have a PTI program for felonies until just last November.

It’s at the prosecuting District or County Attorney’s discretion.

In Washington County, the County attorney prosecutes misdemeanors, and they’ve had PTI for misdemeanors for a long time.

But the District Attorney (I’m an Assistant) prosecutes felonies in Washington County, and we didn’t have a PTI for felonies until November 1st, 2019. For offenses committed after that date, we can only offer it for first time offender STATE JAIL FELONY level drug offenses, first time offender UUMVs, and first time offender Evading Arrest in a Vehicle (but that will be only in exceptional cases; depends upon the circumstances). Even then, the individual involved must have otherwise been a little angel in their lives. Qualifying for the program ain’t easy.

Oh I understand what you are saying…but since a first time dwi charge is a misdemeanor I thought I read in my class the whole state does offer a pretrial intervention for for first time dwi offenders based on certain circumstances? Could be wrong though

It wasn’t his jacket. Hehe. #jacketgate

"Thousands of times " :cold_face::flushed::flushed::face_with_monocle::hear_no_evil:

I got pulled over one time leaving Houston and had to do the field sobriety test. I was not drunk or even close. It was actually coming back from the Louisville Thursday night game. I was eating in the car and must have swerved a little which put the police on to me. From there on, they tried so many tactics I would consider dirty to try to get me. It was an unmarked car so they got in my blindspot back left and sat there. This was on 45 with two lanes with them in the passing lane. I had the car on cruise control at the speed limit, so first slowed down and they also slowed down, so then I said screw it and sped up to try to get them out of there. When I did that, they got behind and turned on the lights.

After getting pulled over it was every attempt to try to get me to say something that contradicted what I said previously. Like really bad, multiple times using the “so you said” then inserting something that was not what I said. I had no issues at all with the sobriety test, but then he pressed on a little longer before eventually letting me go with a written warning for the speeding. If they would have given me a ticket for speeding, I would have driven back down to go to court.

So I can easily see somebody who is drunk or even somebody who is scared would get tripped up and taken in with all that can be done to make you seem drunk.

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So what you are really saying is Do NOT get arrested.

Better advice: don’t commit violations of the law!

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That said…UGH!!!

I just looked up Montgomery County’s pre-trial diversion requirements. See here:

https://mctxdao.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/PTD-FAQ-3.pdf

Consider this:

Quote: Pre-Trial Diversion is a statutory punishment provision provided for by the Code of Criminal Procedure in addition to incarceration, probation, and deferred punishments. Although this punishment provision is provided for by
statute, it is an extraordinary remedy that is rarely approved.

  1. Any negative factor in a case will most likely result in the denial of a Pre-Trial Diversion. In general, negative factors include, but are not limited to:
     The severity of the case,
     The existence of a victim in the case,
     Being under the influence of narcotics, whether legal or illegal

OUCH!!!

I wonder if they consider alcohol to be a “legal” narcotic for which being under the influence of it would be a factor weighing against giving a defendant an opportunity for PTD.

If so, then they may be reluctant to grant a pre-trial diversion for a DWI.

Is anyone here a criminal law practitioner in that county? If so, then could you please advise as to how the DA’s office there usually treats DWIs? Are they eligible for a PTD or PTI there? Are PTIs often given for DWIs there?

It was a clown response.

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