Repeat DUI Offender Avoids Felony Charge After Error

Repeat DUI offender Dustin Cowhig of Chesapeake, has escaped a felony DUI charge due to a paperwork error. Cowhig was arrested for his 3rd DUI offense on September 5, 2012 after an officer said Cowhig ran him off the road while driving 20 mph over the speed limit. However, Circuit Court Judge Randall D. Smith dismissed the charges which prosecutors say was because Cowhig had already plead guilty a lesser charge of reckless driving regarding the same incident and could not be charged with DUI using the same set of facts. After the felony charge was dismissed, Cowhig was released from the Chesapeake Correctional Center where he spent 6 months awaiting his trial.

Cowhig, a repeat DUI offender, was arrested for DUI first on April 12, 2010 in a hit and run accident where his blood alcohol content (BAC) level was .30%, almost 4 times the legal limit. Cowhig was arrested a second time on December 11, 2011 after he ran a stop sign and failed to complete the alphabet test given to him by the arresting officer. Cowhig’s BAC during his second DUI arrest was .26%. During his 3rd DUI arrest, the repeat DUI offender refused to submit a breathalyzer test and if convicted, he could have faced up to five years in jail. Aneka Williams, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, apparently thought that the paperwork listed a reckless driving statute for speed, which would have made charging Cowhig with two separate offenses possible. The incident is being called a one-time error and prosecutors have reminded the Chesapeake Police Department not to charge a driver with both general reckless driving and DUI.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Virginia DUI attorney for legal assistance.