Thread: High Rate of Hispanic DWI's in NC

From The Charlotte Observer (or Disturber, depending on your viewpoint)

Posted on Sun, May. 08, 2005
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OBSERVER EXCLUSIVE

DWI arrest rate worries Hispanic leaders in N.C.

GARY L. WRIGHT

Staff Writer

Nearly one of every five motorists arrested last year in North Carolina for driving while impaired was Hispanic. In Mecklenburg County, one of every four DWI suspects was Hispanic.

Police and Hispanic leaders are troubled by the numbers, which have more than tripled in just seven years -- and far exceed the percentage of Latinos in the state.

Hispanic leaders say too many Latinos, most of them male, are drinking and driving -- and, too often, dying -- because they don't fully understand the law or the danger.

In 1997, the 3,698 Hispanics charged with DWI represented 5 percent of the more than 78,000 arrests in North Carolina.

Last year, 12,039 Hispanics were charged with DWI. That's 19 percent of the nearly 62,000 arrests statewide. Hispanics make up an estimated 6 percent of the state's population.

"That's a tremendous shock," said Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte. "There's too much drinking and driving going on.

"The Latino community is over-represented in DWI charges. That's a bad place to be over-represented."

The percentage of Hispanics being arrested for DWI in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County has increased at an even faster pace.

In 2000, the 225 Hispanics arrested countywide represented 6 percent of the more than 4,000 DWI arrests. Last year, the 913 DWI charges against Hispanics accounted for 25 percent of the more than 3,500 arrests. Hispanics make up about 8 percent of Mecklenburg's population.

"Those are some alarming and frightening statistics," Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Marsha Goodenow said. "Drunk drivers are a threat to kill on our highways."

In South Carolina, more than 1,000 Hispanics were arrested for driving under the influence in both 2002 and 2003. That represented about 9 percent of the drunken driving arrests each of those years. Latinos make up about 3 percent of South Carolina's population.

Hispanic leaders say many who drink and drive are young, single men whose families are still in Latin America. Some feel isolated and turn to alcohol in part because of a lack of social activities.

In Mecklenburg County during the past five years, 3,845 Hispanics have been charged with DWI. All but 54 were men.

Armando Ortiz-Rocha, consul of Mexico in Raleigh, sees the death toll drinking and driving causes among the more than 500,000 Mexican immigrants in both Carolinas.

Each year for the last three years, Ortiz-Rocha said, the Mexican consulate has helped return the bodies of 300 Mexicans who have died in the Carolinas. Half of those deaths were the result of alcohol-related vehicle accidents.

"Drinking and driving is a great concern for the Mexican government," Ortiz-Rocha said. "Too many Mexicans are losing their lives because of this combination of drinking and driving."

Barbara Guidry, Rock Hill's Hispanic liaison, told the Observer last month that the York County, S.C., coroner investigated 18 deaths of Hispanics in 2004. Eleven of them were caused by drunken driving, she said.

Mecklenburg District Judge Nate Proctor sees the large number of Latinos in court charged with drunken driving. Still, he said he had no idea the numbers are that high.

"That's shocking to me," Proctor said, "and I work in the courtroom."

Questions about profiling

The three Latino-community leaders interviewed by the Observer all said they worry the arrest numbers suggest police engage in some profiling in traffic stops -- stopping people based on their race or ethnicity. But they acknowledge they've heard no specific complaints about police targeting Hispanics."Absolutely not," Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman Keith Bridges said when asked whether profiling could have anything to do with the large numbers of Hispanics being arrested for DWI.

Bridges said DWI suspects are arrested after they've violated traffic laws or are caught driving badly.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens said he has seen the steady increase of Hispanics being charged with DWIs over the years but is confident his officers are not targeting Latinos.

"There's a higher proportion of young Latino men out there on the streets driving when they shouldn't be," Stephens said. "It's a reflection of a lack of understanding of our DWI laws and the way they spend Friday and Saturday nights."

Said Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist: "We have a group of young, single men, away from their homes, in a very different environment and culture. I think that leads to excessive drinking and driving."

Proctor, whose son-in-law is from Mexico, said he has seen no evidence of profiling in traffic stops. "They get stopped because they're driving like drunks," the judge said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have been working for years to help educate Hispanics about the dangers of drinking and driving. Police officers talk about the risks of drunken driving on Latino radio stations, television and newspapers. They also visit communities, the jail, churches and businesses.

"It is our focus this year because of those numbers," said Officer Carmen Mendoza with the Police Department's International Relations Unit. "It's a problem we see. And it is preventable."

Wayne Cooper, the honorary Mexican consul in Charlotte, calls drinking and driving the "biggest single problem" in the Latino community.

"We Americans have grown up learning how dangerous it is to drink and drive," Cooper said. "Americans still do it, though. Many in the Latino community have no idea. It's the first time they've ever owned a car. It's hard for them to recognize how dangerous it is to drink and drive."

2 DWI deaths, 2 Latino suspects

In Charlotte so far this year, prosecutors blame drinking and driving for two separate killings.

Both of the suspects -- Geronimo Villa-Gomez and Raymundo Pineda --are Hispanic.

Villa-Gomez, 25, and Pineda, 22, are now in jail awaiting trial. Villa-Gomez is charged with murder. Prosecutors last week authorized police to charge Pineda with murder.

Police say Villa-Gomez in March struck a vehicle and continued driving until he hit two pedestrians, killing one of them. His alcohol level was 0.20 percent -- more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to court documents.

Villa-Gomez, accused of killing Tony Anthony Grier, told police he'd had two beers, according to court documents.

Pineda is accused of hit and run in an April wreck that killed 21-year-old Jasmine Lawrence. It was the second time in less than a year that he'd been charged with driving while impaired. The 2004 charge is still pending.

Police say Pineda was driving a sport utility vehicle east on Independence Boulevard when it slammed into two other vehicles. The impact sent Lawrence's car and another vehicle across the median and into a fourth vehicle traveling west.

Pineda had an alcohol level of 0.13 percent, according to court records.

The immigration issue

It's not clear how many of the Hispanics charged with DWI statewide and in Charlotte are here illegally.An estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants of all nationalities live in North Carolina. Eighty percent of the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants are Latino, with most from Mexico.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have sought help from federal law enforcement agencies, including immigration authorities, in serious crimes, Bridges, the Police Department's spokesman, said. But the Police Department lacks the resources to check the immigration status of the hundreds of Hispanics charged with motor vehicle violations each year.

"We don't act as immigration officers...," Bridges said. "We want those in the Latino community, legal or illegal, to call the police if they are victims of crimes. If they are afraid they'll be deported if they call police, then they won't call police and they'll continue to be easy targets of victimization."

The Mexican consulate tries through brochures and public service announcements on Spanish-speaking radio stations to educate immigrants about the dangers of drinking and driving.

"We are trying to convince them that if they drink alcohol, they shouldn't drive," said Ortiz-Rocha, the consul in Raleigh. "The integrity of themselves and their families are at great risk."

Mecklenburg DA Gilchrist worries about the increasing numbers of Hispanics caught driving while drunk and the dangers they pose to other motorists.

"Many don't have driver's licenses and don't know the rules of the road," Gilchrist said. "That makes them easier to spot and they get arrested.

"Any drunk driver is a danger. But here are folks who may not have driver's licenses, may not have insurance and are very much at risk of being involved in a crash causing injury or death."

Need Help?

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers will give presentations on the dangers of drinking and driving at Hispanic community groups and at businesses that employ Latinos. To request such a presentation, contact the Police Department's International Relations Unit at (704) 336-2263.
Gary L. Wright: (704) 358-5052; gwright@charlotteobserver.com

Pleading ignorance? Ah. that doesn't fly here...Sorry about your luck!

It never ceases to amaze me at how people create their own problems and then whine to the rest of us about it.

Hey, its cultural diversity! Perhaps we Americans need to show more appreciation for the law-less and hopelessly-disorganized cultures these people are fleeing from. After all, if we can't expect these people to abide by our immigration laws, how can we expect them to abide by any of our other laws?

I had to stop reading when I got to this sentance....then I reread it 3 more times!

Hispanic leaders say too many Latinos, most of them male, are drinking and driving -- and, too often, dying -- because they don't fully understand the law or the danger.

!. ILLEGALS? Arrest them and DEPORT

2. FORCE THEM TO SPEAK ENGLISH & FORCE YOUR STATES TO TAKE ACTION

3. HOW MANY AMERICANS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY AN ILLEGAL DRIVING DRUNK {who doesn't speak ENGLISH?}

We must find these figures too
There's POWER in all these figures......we need to start digging deep. Then with figures in hand-- everyone of us can stare down any moronic OFFICIAL

I knew this would frost people. How could you all be so insensitive! After all, boys will be boys.

I was quite frankly shocked that the Disturber would print this report. They usually try to cover up any negative illegal alien news.

An illegal did kill a lady just a short while back, driving drunk on a surface street in Charlotte. Of course, at the time, the Disturber neglected to say he was illegal.

Let's see, just this week I have learned about illegals spreading diseases in America that were eradicated years ago, including a strain of TB that is virtually incurable; I have learned that they drive drunk routinely; I have learned that the Feds are pouring our tax money into broke hospitals which are forced to treat illegals. It just goes on and on and on.

When are we going to....

Move to new section for Americans Killed By illegals.