Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 12/02/2008

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Theresa Menshek - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Christine Cook

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

DUI DEFENDANT SENTENCED AT WINDSOR
HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATES STUDENTS FIRST HAND

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced today that on November 3, 2008, at Windsor High School, Superior Court Judge Dana Simonds, in front of 250 Windsor High School students, sentenced and remanded a young adult driver who was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.  The sentencing and following two-hour program was designed to educate the students to the law and possible deadly consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

District Attorney Passalacqua stated, “This program was designed to inform each student to the consequences of using drugs or alcohol.  If a single student listening to our program makes the decision to avoid this type of behavior, we collectively are making a difference.”

Speakers from the District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, California Highway patrol, Sheriff’s Office, Petaluma Police Department and the Sonoma County Superior Court partnered to emphasize different topics relating to the criminal consequences of being arrested and convicted of driving under the influence.

Ron Darst, whose daughter-in-law was killed by a drunk driver in 2005, also gave an impassioned speech from the victim’s perspective relating to the emotional impact of losing a family member to a traffic accident involving an impaired driver.

Windsor High School teacher Michelle Berry stated, “It’s often the guest speakers and out-of-classroom experiences that our students will remember best.  This morning’s ‘DUI:  Courthouse in the Schools’ presentation was one of these.  It was a very powerful two hours.”

At the conclusion of the program, two handcuffed, sentenced prisoners from the Main Adult Detention Facility spoke to the students, detailing their own personal histories of substance abuse and how that abuse has negatively affected their lives and the lives of their families.