The driver of a pickup that struck and killed a married couple on a motorcycle was arrested and charged with drunken driving and manslaughter, police said.

Al H., 54, of Port Orange, was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter, DUI, DUI with property damage, resisting arrest without violence, refusal to submit to a breath test and refusal to sign and accept citation, said Port Orange Assistant Police Chief Wayne Miller.

Al struck Randall A., 40, and his wife, Laura A., 44, both of Apopka, Sunday on Taylor Road near Williamson Boulevard, police said.

The victims were two of four motorcyclists killed in separate crashes Sunday, including one that occurred on Interstate 4 near DeLand, authorities said.

Port Orange police said Al was eastbound on Taylor Road and made a left turn into the Westport Square shopping plaza at 1660 Taylor Road at 5:30 p.m., cutting into the path of the victim’s motorcycle traveling west.

The victim’s motorcycle collided into the right side of Al’s pickup. The victims were thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene, Miller said.

Police are still investigating to determine where the victims were going or coming from, and whether alcohol contributed to their crash, Miller said. Neither was wearing a helmet.

In the other accident Sunday, state troopers said Allison Sellers, 32, was killed along with 34-year-old Javier Remonsanzol. Both were from Sanford.

The motorcycle was struck by a vehicle at 4:30 a.m. on I-4 and the driver fell on the road and was run over by at least three vehicles. Sellers ended up on the shoulder of the road with the motorcycle, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes said.

The Ford Explorer suspected of striking the motorcycle and then fleeing was located broken down five miles from the crash scene, Montes said.

A woman found with the SUV is a person of interest but has not been charged because troopers have not yet determined if she was driving at the time of the crash, Montes said.

The wreck closed both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-4, but the interstate has since been opened, Montes said.

Two other people died in motorcycle-related fatalities in Volusia County during Biketoberfest, which was Thursday through Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities to six.

That’s up from previous years. One motorcycle-related fatality occurred during Biketoberfest 2010 and another in 2009. Two people died during the event in 2008 but no deaths were reported in 2007.

Five people died during Biketoberfest 2005.

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More than 100 names will be read Saturday as officials and family members honor loved ones who were murdered or killed in DUI crashes.

The event will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Milton Memorial Park in Holly Hill in conjunction with the fifth annual National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.

Officials will read the names of 113 local people who have recently been murdered or killed by drunken drivers.

White doves will also be released at the service.

There have been 13 homicides recorded by Volusia County so far this year and one in Flagler County.

On Monday, 38-year-old Heidi S. was shot multiple times at a DeBary Burger King where she worked. She died shortly after at a nearby hospital. Her ex-boyfriend Jesus Morales is charged in the slaying.

In June, Katie B., 24, was gunned down outside a South Keech Street apartment. Willie Poindexter, 22, a Coliseum nightclub bouncer and former Bethune-Cookman University student, is charged in the shooting.

It is believed more than 14,000 people were murdered in the United States in 2010, a 4.2 percent decrease from 2009, according to data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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A Port Orange man faces manslaughter charges after a wreck in New Smyrna Beach earlier this year killed two people riding a motorcycle.

Roger G., 49, was arrested and charged Thursday with two counts of DUI manslaughter.

Authorities say Roger was intoxicated at more than twice the state’s limit for driving when the wreck occurred in February at State Road 44 and Interstate 95, according to an arrest affidavit from the New Smyrna Beach Police Department.

Police believe the motorcycle, driven by Gregory S., was traveling in the left lane on S.R. 44 when Roger tried to turn left onto I-95 but instead struck the motorcycle.

Gregory and passenger Nina H. were both ejected. Gregory died at the scene and Nina died at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach a few days later. Blood samples taken at the scene from Roger show his blood alcohol level was 0.164. Florida’s law states 0.08 is too drunk to drive.

Roger was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail on Thursday and released after posting $100,000 bail.

Updates as they are available.

Hopefully, for Roger’s future, he will get a good Port Orange DUI attorney to defend him. Otherwise, he will probably be in jail for the rest of his life.

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A recent Florida Highway Patrol crackdown resulted in 247 citations in Highlands County, including four DUI arrests and 117 speeding citations, a preliminary FHP report shows.

Of the total, 237 were for infractions, including 25 for seatbelt violations, and 10 were for misdemeanors, said Troop F patrol spokesman Lt. Conner Cardwell.

During the crackdown, which began Aug. 19 and ran through Labor Day, troopers worked 31 crashes in Highlands County and 770 throughout Troop F, which includes Sarasota, Manatee, Glades, Lee, Charlotte, Desoto, Highlands, Hendry, Hardee and Collier counties.

Troop F troopers wrote a total of 5,205 citations, including 44 felony arrests and 50 for DUI.

Also part of the Troop F total were 308 misdemeanor citations, 29 drug-related tickets, 1,723 speed-related citations and 639 seatbelt violations.

Troop F also investigated 13 traffic deaths.

“None of the fatal crashes occurred in Highlands County and it does not appear that any of the deceased were from Highlands County,” Cardwell said.

Overall citation figures for 2011 were unavailable on the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website, www.flhsmv.gov/, but figures for 2010 reveal a mixed bag of trends compared to 2009.

The most dramatic increase was for citations written for unbelted passengers older than 18, which saw a 52.61 percent increase in 2010.

Citations for unbelted drivers increased to 386,529 in 2010, a 27.61 percent jump compared to the 302,898 citations written in 2009.

Driving-under-the influence violations, however, dropped by 7.69 percent in 2010. The total number of citations dipped by 10.06 percent to just over 4.38 million versus 4.875 million in 2009.

DUI convictions fell 16.11 percent.

Child restraint citations climbed by less than 1 percent in 2010, as did citations for unbelted passengers younger than 18.

If you’ve been accused of DUI in Volusia or a surrounding area, it’s vital that you contact an attorney who can inform of your rights. Just call 386-341-9882 to schedule your free consultation with a Volusia DUI attorney at Musca Law. We have over 100 years of combined experience defending people like you.

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An Orange City resident has been charged with killing a 38-year-old man in a June traffic crash after authorities say they found the suspect’s blood alcohol level was almost three times higher than the law allows.

Eric M., 28, is charged with driving under the influence manslaughter and DUI bodily injury.

The charges stem from a Deltona accident that killed Brian F. of Port Orange.

Authorities say Eric was speeding Interstate 4 at the St. Johns River Bridge when he rear-ended Brian’s Jeep. Blood was drawn from the suspect and officials found his blood alcohol level was at 0.223, said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes. A level of 0.08 is considered by state law as too drunk to drive.

Eric surrendered at the Volusia County Branch Jail after a warrant was issued for his arrest, Montes said.

Eric was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail after posting $15,000 bail.

A message left for Eric was not immediately returned Wednesday.

RIP Brian

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Smile when you walk along the Boardwalk — a police officer may be watching you.

Even sitting in a patrol car, 10 miles away.

The clutch of new cameras placed atop the Bandshell, Ocean Walk Shoppes buildings and on utility poles, have increased visibility of what’s happening there.

Red light cameras have reminded people how much more they are being recorded, but there are hundreds of other surveillance cameras in Volusia and Flagler counties doing most of the work, with one at nearly every intersection from Port Orange to Ormond Beach.

The technology is making the jobs of law enforcement and transportation officials easier. But its advancement also raises privacy concerns, especially with regard to what happens to the video after it is recorded. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida suggests policies be put in place for the use of video cameras, including public input on who views the videos.

At City Hall in Daytona Beach last month, Police Chief Mike Chitwood showed off the new “state-of-the art” video surveillance system.

Although no one is assigned to view the cameras full time, the latest high definition technology allows police officers to see what’s going on — even from laptop computers in their patrol cars.

“With a flip of a switch, I can see the Boardwalk from Valor Boulevard (police headquarters),” Chitwood said, as a city employee showed how the computer could be moved in all directions. The camera allows someone to zoom in close, with the touch of a computer mouse. “This technology is unbelievable.”

The upgrade in the tourist area, Chitwood said, was pursued after a stabbing death of a girl during a fight near the Boardwalk in 2009. There were some stationary cameras in place then but the fight occurred just off camera.

“I’d like to get more,” he said. “It’s just finding a way to pay for them.”

ARE CAMERAS INTRUSIVE?

Derek Newton, communications director for the ACLU of Florida, said the group believes filming public places is a concern, “but not necessarily from a civil liberties” perspective.

Instead, the agency has concerns with “what happens to the video and how long does it live.”

“There may be some legitimate public safety reasons to have cameras,” he said. But, he added, the public should be aware of what the cameras are being used for and who is watching.

“Using them to monitor who’s going to the library and how many times someone goes to the grocery store is probably not a legitimate purpose,” Newton said.

Private surveillance cameras make up the majority of video lenses in use. The value of what those cameras capture depends on how cooperative the owners are. Many video surveillance cameras only save footage for a couple of days.

In some cases, store owners say, their cameras do not record and are intended primarily to act as a deterrent.

The state Department of Transportation has the most publicly funded cameras in the area, with 95 in Volusia and Flagler counties, mostly along the interstates and U.S. 92. The next largest group of cameras is operated by Volusia County, strapped on the dashboards and on the exterior of just about all Votran buses.

Mike Smith, manager of the Intelligent Traffic Management office for the Florida Department of Transportation, said the state has a policy to never record from its cameras. One reason, he said, could be to avoid getting called into court.

“You’d probably need someone to do that full time,” he said.

The state traffic cameras are used to provide information to the regional control center office in Orlando. Sensors every half mile on most busy highways alert traffic officials, who notify police and motorists on websites and electronic message boards.

ELECTRONIC WITNESSES

Daytona Beach operates about 100 cameras on signs at intersections and in alleys, with plans to add more. These cameras have been used as witnesses in recent crimes, including last year’s murder trial of two in the shooting death of a 13-year-old Georgia boy.

Dave Byron, a spokesman for Volusia County, said the video cameras in all 90 Votran buses are mostly used “as security tools.”

But there is another purpose: customer service training.

“If a there are complaints about driver behavior, we have video documentation to discern what happened,” Byron said. “Cameras don’t lie, they tell the story.”

But what is seen on video can be open to interpretation. Identification of accused suspects in criminal acts can be difficult, especially with equipment that is older or not designed for close-up inspection.

“Videos go both ways,” Public Defender Jim Purdy said. “A video recording can often correct a miscarriage of justice, and clear a wrongly accused person; or it can solidify the state’s case. Frequently, it adds to the case but doesn’t solve it. It’s just another piece of evidence.”

Such was the case of a robbery of a convenience store last year. A video was intended to prove a suspect’s identity but ended up raising some doubts.

“The case was dropped, because the robbery occurred while our client was in jail,” Purdy said.

BUS CAM EVIDENCE

Prosecutors are prepared to show jurors a Votran bus video of the Oct. 15 hit-and-run crash that killed a 21-year-old Port Orange woman. In the six-minute recording taken from the dashboard cam, a sport utility vehicle is seen crossing in front of the bus.

In the clip, the vehicle is shown moving in front of a group of motorcycles with the impact occurring before the vehicle continues off the screen. If and when the DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide case against suspected driver Joshua B., 27, goes to trial, prosecutors will have the video to prove how the crash occurred.

“As a prosecutor, clearly from our standpoint, a video is helpful for the state to be able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Shannon Peters, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney’s Office.

Like Purdy, she said a video can “help us” both ways, by providing proof of how an event occurred and whether the event occurred as described by witnesses — even if that means an accused person is cleared.

“If there is any wrongdoing on the part of anybody and we see it, that would affect how we handle a case,” she said.

At Ocean Walk Shoppes on a recent day, most shopping or working in the restaurants and stores said they were unaware of the cameras.

“I don’t think they stop anything from happening,” Leta Legary, 21, of Daytona Beach, said while she worked at a booth selling flavored licorice. “We get so used to being on cameras that we don’t notice.”

Misty Garcia, a tourist visiting from Georgia with her husband for their 12th wedding anniversary, said she likes knowing there are cameras watching the Boardwalk. “It makes you feel safer,” she said.

Police conduct has been captured on surveillance video, too. The most notorious local case involved the use of a Taser on a shopper at Best Buy in Daytona Beach. The city early this year settled a claim by the woman stunned in that 2007 incident, paying her $38,000.

Even the widest viewed criminal trial ever, that of Casey Anthony, included surveillance video.

Prosecutors played for the jury surveillance videos from a Target and other stores to show what Anthony was doing after her daughter went missing.

MORE CAMERAS COMING

The Constitution allows little protection of privacy in public places, although the argument has been made in large cities like New York and Chicago, where virtually every step a citizen takes is in view of a video camera.

Advances in surveillance technology in recent years are largely the product of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Volusia County is adding cameras at Votran parking areas, including the headquarters on Big Tree Road. A video security upgrade under way at the Votran facility will cost $340,000. Cameras on buses, depending on the size of the vehicle, cost from $4,000 to $7,500.

“We’re putting cameras inside and outside,” Byron said of the upgrade. “Cameras provide a measure of security, as well as confirmation of any activity that occurred in that building or bus.”

Chief Chitwood said he is hoping to bring drone aircraft equipped with cameras to the city to help combat drug sales. Facial recognition software technology is another area that could use photographs to identify criminal suspects.

When that happens, lawyers say, legal challenges may arise.

“If you’re driving in your car, that’s one thing,” Matt Phillips, a local assistant public defender said. “But when you’re being watched in your own backyard, it begins to look a little bit like Big Brother.”

If you’ve been accused of DUI in Volusia, you may be able to beat the charge, without or without ‘video evidence’. Contact our Volusia County DUI attorneys today to discuss saving your license and, more importantly, avoiding a criminal conviction.

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A 20-year-old woman turned herself in to authorities Thursday night after police say she tried to run over an officer during a hit-and-run investigation.

Shantisha R. of Daytona Beach turned herself in at the Volusia County Branch Jail and was charged with attempted second-degree murder of a law-enforcement officer, said police spokesman Jimmie Flynt. She was being held on $150,000 bail.

Officers responded about 6 p.m. Wednesday to the area of Marion Street and Orange Avenue after a pedestrian was reportedly hit by a vehicle driven by Shantisha, who fled the scene, Flynt said.

Officer Chuck Russo was one of the first officers to reach the scene, and less than an hour later the woman came back.

After Russo determined the woman would be arrested, he ordered her to get out of the vehicle. He opened the vehicle door, reached inside, and Shantisha put the vehicle into reverse and accelerated, Flynt said.

Russo was knocked to the ground and dragged a short distance. As this occurred, he and Officer Donald Rininger fired several rounds from their service weapons at the suspect, Flynt said.

The vehicle was later found abandoned and riddled with bullet holes. No blood was found. Russo was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center with minor injuries and released. Rininger was not injured. The pedestrian who was hit did not seek medical treatment.

Flynt declined to release how many shots were fired or whether Russo followed protocol by reaching into the vehicle, citing the ongoing investigation. Russo, who was hired by the department in 2008, and six-year police veteran Rininger have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

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Guess he was hoping for some Gator-aid.

Carl B., 26, of Gainesville, is neither a University of Florida football player nor a student, according to UF officials, reports The Gainesville Sun. Falsely

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Carl was pulled over on suspicion of DUI. He allegedly told deputies that he played football for the Gators and asked if that would affect his situation.

It didn’t.

Probably not something to try when suspected of DUI. Instead, contact a Volusia County DUI lawyer at Musca Law for a free legal consultation ASAP. We have helped many people like you avoid losing their license and avoid being convicted of DUI. Call 386-341-9882 right now.

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A Georgia man has been charged with manslaughter after being involved in a June crash that killed a DeLand man, authorities said.

James J., 23, of Newnan, Ga., was driving near the intersection of Arredondo Grant Road and State Road 11 in DeLeon Springs when he lost control of his car and struck a tree, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes said. Passenger Benjamen A., 22, was killed in the June 9 crash.

James and 22-year-old Jonathan K., also from DeLand, were injured in the crash.

James is charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and serious bodily injury by DUI, Montes said. He is being held on $10,000 bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail.

RIP Benjamen – DeLand DUI Attorneys

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An Orange County firefighter with an extensive disciplinary record has been fired after a DUI arrest, according to documents from Orange County Fire Rescue.

Matthew H., 25, of Winter Park, was arrested by the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety on July 10. His termination was effective Friday, according to a July 21 termination letter from the fire department.

Mathew reportedly drove into a parking lot behind the public safety department through an entrance marked “do not enter.” When a public safety officer stopped Mathew, the officer noticed that the firefighter-paramedic smelled strongly of alcohol, according to an arrest report.

Mathew, whose eyes were red and watery, and he said he had been looking for a place where he and his girlfriend could get married, according the report. He said he had pulled into the parking lot to rest.

When the officer asked Mathew to complete several exercises as part of a field sobriety test, he was unable to touch his finger to his nose, walk a straight line, lift one leg or say the alphabet. His scores on an alcohol-breath test were more than two times the state’s .08 legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol.

He later admitted that he had spent the afternoon in a bar drinking, according to the letter. He was jailed for 24 hours.

The letter, signed by Assistant Chief Jeffrey Holton, notes that Mathew’s disciplinary file has included notations about tardiness, failure to complete several reports, a written reprimand about substandard work and a warning and suspension related to the loss of one of the department’s portable radios.

Mathew had been with the department since Oct. 2008.

It’s not common to be terminated from a job without actually being convicted of DUI, which is probably why the department stated Mathew’s termination was for unrelated reasons. However, usually someone charged with DUI has the chance to fight the charge in court, in order to save their job.

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