Nevada DUI Penalties Sometimes Not Enforced
After Charles Messoria did time in prison for accidentally killing his wife during a drunk driving incident in ’99, Nevada DUI laws were in place that should have prevented him from driving drunk again: A mandatory ignition interlock device should have been installed in his car, he should have had to wait three years before getting a new drivers license, and he should have been charged with a felony rather than a misdemeanor after being arrested for breaking Nevada DUI law again last year. None of that happened, and poor communication between law enforcement agencies and lack of knowledge of the law among authorities are being blamed.
Nevada DUI law makes it a crime to operate a motor vehicle while drunk or high. Even if you’re driving carefully and no accident has occurred, you can still be arrested for having a BAC of .08 or higher. Most DUIs without injury or property damage are misdemeanors, but a third DUI arrest in seven years is an automatic felony. As mentioned above, typical punishments for repeat offenders of Nevada DUI law include a mandatory ignition interlock device as well as a two-to-three year license revocation.
Of Messoria, Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno said, “It's outrageous that a chronic repeat offender has fallen through the cracks in the system. The public is at risk when our laws are not being enforced." Messoria recently did have his license revoked.
