myDUIattorney.org sits down with Fred Cordova*, a single dad from Tempe, Arizona to speak with him about his experience of being arrested and charged with an extreme DUI.

 

*Pseudonym used to protect the interviewee’s identity

 

MYD: Fred, tell me, when did you get your DUI?

 

FC: September 2007

 

MYD: Where did it happen?

 

FC: Gilbert, Arizona

 

MYD: Talk me through what happened

 

FC: Basically I made a bad decision, drove a far distance but made it all the way home and I could see my door, but you know you can’t be driving around drunk, and I can see that now but at the time I was kind of pissed. So basically I got too inebriated, bad choice, paid for it in the long run.

 

MYD: Where had you been drinking?

 

FC: At a hip-hop club

 

MYD: Do you remember how much you had roughly?

 

FC: Probably had like 5 or 6 beers and a couple of shots

 

MYD: So you saw your front door, you got pulled over, what happened from there?

 

FC: Well in my opinion it was bullshit because over in East Mesa there’s a spot called Dos Gringos so I was right by it. I had my blinker on, I had my music on low, I had my lights on, everything was good. So I turned a corner, next thing I know there’s like 5 cops on me. So I think, in my opinion, racial profiling – because I’m a Mexican. So that’s my whole take on it. But you, I was obviously drunk, and I can say that because I’ve done my time. I shouldn’t have been driving but in my opinion if it was someone from another race, they wouldn’t have been pulled over because I didn’t do shit wrong whatsoever.

 

MYD: Did they give you a reason why they pulled you over?

 

FC: Yeah, bullshit ass reason. I pulled into my housing complex, and we can even go there if you want to, I pulled in and there’s no traffic whatsoever, and they said I didn’t use my blinker pulling in. So that’s what it was.

 

MYD: Did they ask you straight away, “Have you been drinking?”

 

FC: Yeah, and I admitted to it right away.

 

MYD: Did you know at the time that you did not have to answer any questions?

 

FC: No, and I learned that later and I wish I would have known. But they pretty much forced me to answer the questions, which was super bad.

 

MYD: How did they do that?

 

FC: They were so disrespectful to me, like, it came to the point that – if we really wanna get into it – it got kind of ugly because I really wasn’t liking the way that they were treating me. It was super disrespectful, super ugly, they were just so mean to me. I was like “I’m drunk, I’ll admit it, but I’m not being a bad guy. Like if you’re gonna take me to jail, please stop talking shit to me,” but they just wouldn’t quit. But yeah, they pretty much forced me into the whole sobriety shit and they forced me into everything, it was ridiculous and I didn’t know my rights. If I’d have known my rights, I woulda said “No, sorry, I’m not doing shit”. It was pretty disrespectful on their part.

 

MYD: So a large reason you ended up being arrested was just not knowing your rights?

 

FC: Yep, if I woulda known I would never have done their sobriety stuff, I woulda never have done nothing. Because I was right by house.

 

MYD: So it sounds like you had a really bad experience with the police, and felt like you were treated like a criminal?

 

FC: Yeah, and like I said I definitely admit to what I did wrong, it was definitely not the right thing to do in any right state of mind whatsoever, and I admit to it, and I admit my faults, but the way the treated me during the whole arrest and everything? Super disrespectful.

 

MYD: Did they say, “If you cooperate with us, we’ll treat you better, you just need to cooperate?”

 

FC: Mhmm, they basically brainwashed me. I was like “Ok cool, I’ll definitely cooperate if I can get off on a lighter sentence or whatever, I’ll cooperate with you guys,” but as soon as I got in the back of the car seat, I knew what was gonna happen. And like I said, I already got prosecuted for this shit so I’m not even worried about saying this shit whatsoever, but when I was in the back, I had a Ford explorer, and they were literally rampaging on my shit, like throwing shit out like laughing and everything. So I was sitting in the back of the cop car like this, I was super pissed, so I hocked a big loogie on their computer. So I was like “fuck these guys, they don’t give a fuck about me so fuck them”. But I already got prosecuted, I had to do six months in county jail for this shit.

 

MYD: Wow. So let’s go back to the fact that you had been driving by Dos Gringos. Did they ask you if you had just come from Dos Gringos?

 

FC: No.

 

MYD: Do you think they were staking out Dos Gringos?

 

FC: Yeah, definitely. But more so I think it was a race issue, seriously because if it wasn’t me, how I dress and how I look, I don’t think I would have been pulled over because I seriously didn’t violate any laws whatsoever. I was sitting at the light, it turned green, I had my blinker on all my lights were on, everything worked perfectly. And as soon as I turned and I drove for like a quarter mile, I guarantee it’s just racial profiling. Guarantee it.

 

MYD: Was that the first time you’d had a brush with the law?

 

FC: No but it was the worst. I definitely had a couple of altercations, but you know, I’m not a bad person so it was nothing major but this was obviously the worst, because I did six month’s in county jail for it, can you imagine that? Six months for a DUI. What kind of fucking world are we living in, it’s ridiculous.

 

MYD: Let’s go back to the arrest. Do you remember what you blew on the scene?

 

FC: Yeah, like I said, I got an extreme. So it definitely wasn’t the right idea for me to be driving, I will admit it to this day. It was like a .20 or something. It was something bad yeah, I was pretty drunk.

 

MYD: And did they give you another breathalyzer back at the station?

 

FC: Nah, they took my blood.

 

MYD: Now what happened from there, did they let you out on bail? Did you go straight to jail?

 

FC: Yeah, because I spit on the screen, I did like two weeks. So that was fun.

 

MYD: And at what point were you allowed to contact a lawyer?

 

FC: When I was released, that’s the first time I talked to a lawyer. So while I was in jail I didn’t talk to sort of lawyer or anything.

 

MYD: Were you given a phone call?

 

FC: Well, when you’re in county jail, you have access to phones but it’s kind of limited because it’s county jail, so you have like a minute or something, something so retarded. You dial it, and you only have a minute, and if they answer, you’re good then you can talk longer, but if they don’t answer, you’re kinda screwed you know.

 

MYD: And I heard you can’t ring cell phone numbers, is that true?

 

FC: This has to be the worst jail in America, it’s horrible

 

MYD: Durango?

 

FC: Every single one of them, Durango, the tents, all of them.

 

MYD: So you finally got out on bail and you were able to talk to a lawyer. Did you hire a private attorney, or did you ask for a public defender?

 

FC: I called a couple of lawyers and basically they were telling me, “they got your blood, they got your breathalyzer, you’re screwed basically. Either go with a public defender or defend yourself, because there’s nothing we can do, they have the physical evidence.” So when I went to court, the judge forced me to have the public defender and he didn’t do shit. I mean I seen him chatting it up with the prosecutor, he was like super friendly with everybody, they were like best friends, like I guarantee they might be hanging out tonight, like they really.. The public defenders are not doing anything for the criminal or the defendant whatsoever. I had a public defender because I had to otherwise I would have said “Hell, no.”

 

MYD: So you really don’t feel like the public defender had your interest at heart?

 

FC: Not whatsoever. He tried to make it like he was my friend, but you know, that’s what they kinda get paid for.

 

MYD: So was he able to do anything? What were you ultimately charged with?

 

FC: Extreme DUI, and he didn’t do anything. You know I was thinking, “this is my lawyer, he’s going to back me up, he’s gonna talk to the judge, he’s gonna talk to the prosecutor,” but he was just like “Ok judge, thank you sir, have a good day.” He didn’t do anything. I was looking at him going like “Wow, I woulda done way more for myself than you just did.” He didn’t do shit! I was so pissed off, I was so pissed off.

 

MYD: And you had told him that you didn’t feel justified in being pulled over in the first place?

 

FC: Yeah.

 

MYD: And he didn’t look at any of that evidence as to why you were pulled over?

 

FC: No. Like I said, he was best friends with the judge and the prosecutor. He did not give a shit, it was horrible.

 

MYD: It almost sounds like he was against your rather than on your side?

 

FC: Well, probably. Like in the bigger scheme of things yeah. He made it like he was my friend, but he definitely didn’t do anything to help me.

 

MYD: So if you could do it again, would you go with the same decision to go with a public defender or would you maybe try to spend more time finding a lawyer that felt they could help you?

 

FC: Definitely. I would spend more time to get a better lawyer.

 

MYD: You said you spent six months in county. Why was it six months? I thought the mandatory was three months, and then they’ll waive two months of that if you go to alcohol class?

 

FC: Yeah, because, when I got my DUI, my license was suspended, so that’s why they hit me so hard.

 

MYD: Did you want to do alcohol classes in return for a shorter sentence?

 

FC: No, what happened was, I went to court, and they were like, “we’re going to put you on unsupervised probation,” everything was cool but I had to do the classes and I had to pay the fines. And the fines were pretty steep, it was like $400 a month. Like rent almost. And one month I fell back so, couldn’t make the payment, and then I had a warrant over my head, so that’s pretty much what happened. So got the warrant, then I got arrested, and then I was six months. Fucking great.

 

MYD: How long was your license suspended for?

 

FC: It was only suspended for like 3 months, so it wasn’t that long.

 

MYD: Did you need a car for work at the time or to get to work?

 

FC: Yeah, I had my truck and when I got my DUI of course they impounded it but then I moved with my friend and we lived like walking distance from work.

 

MYD:So you moved because you wanted to be closer to work so you could get there easier.

 

FC: Yeah

 

MYD: Did going to jail affect your job, did you lose your job?

 

FC: Yeah, definitely lost my job. And I was there for almost a year, I was doing really well there, they were actually looking to promote me and because of this shit, pretty much fucked everything up.

 

MYD: So it directly affected your earning potential?

 

FC: Bad. I would still be there trust me, I liked that job a lot.

 

MYD: What were you doing?

 

FC: I was working for AT&T, technical support over the phone.

 

MYD: So a good job..

 

FC: Yeah, it paid me like, $13, $14 an hour.

 

MYD: Did you talk to your supervisor and try to explain what happened?

 

FC: Yeah, I let him know. He was fully aware of it and when I got my DUI I called my friend right away, and said “Please tell my boss that I’m getting arrested right now, but I’ll be back before you know it” and he let him know, but they just weren’t cool with it. They were like, “We’re not gonna hire you back” and I was like “Damn!”

 

MYD: Do you think it was because of the DUI or just that you were a no show?

 

FC: No call no show.

 

MYD: Obviously it affected your work, how did affect your personal life going away to jail for six months?

 

FC: I mean jail was, you don’t even know, people in jail think it’s like prison, they think you have to be like super gangster or a super crazy guy. I’ve seen some pretty messed up stuff, it was kind of bad to say the least you know. But like seeing crazy fights and shit didn’t affect me, but being away for six months, being away from my family, being away from my son, that kind of takes a toll on you, because you’re so used to being with your family. I missed my first son’s first birthday like that, you know, broke my heart. He’s only one year’s old and you miss his birthday and uh, just the living situation was super, super horrible. I mean guys are getting staff infections, guys are getting face punched off, like it was just wild, but you know, that’s Joe Arpaio for you.

 

MYD: Was that the tents, or county?

 

FC: That was everywhere.

 

MYD: Now that you’re out of jail and have a DUI on your record and not being able to drive, has that affected your ability to get a new job?

 

FC: To a degree, not having a vehicle obviously it’s hard to get around, but because I did the time, it’s not on my record anymore. So thank god for that, you know. So when a job runs a background check on me, I’m good. But you know, not having a job, not having a license still, that definitely is hard. I have a bike, but it’s stupid, I’m 27 years old, I should have a car. But like I said, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have been driving around drunk.

 

MYD: What lessons did you learn from the whole experience?

 

FC: Not to be a retard (laughs). Don’t drive around drunk. You know even the moment I got pulled over I was just like “Wow, what was I thinking” you know? It’s preached in your head, DUIs are bad. I made a bad choice and it’s still affected me five years later, so you live and you learn basically.

 

MYD: What advice do you have for people in your age group who drink socially out at bars or clubs and then drive home without thinking too much about it?

 

FC: Call a cab, call a friend. Don’t drive, it’s not worth it. Yeah, you want to get drunk and have a good time but, you might end up having an even better time in jail. It’s no fun there.

 

MYD: Were you surprised about how harsh the punishments were?

 

FC: Very, oh my God, $12,000? Think about that, that’s fucking crazy! 12 gees for a DUI? Wow, that’s like a brand new car, that’s insane, for one night of drinking.

 

MYD: And that covered your jail fees and all the fines?

 

FC: Right.

 

MYD: What have you learned about Arizona law?

 

FC: Worst in America. I mean I understand like, I like the fact you can’t have people running around wild, like I don’t want people thinking they can get away with it. And I have a son out here so I want him to be safe, but wow, for one night of drinking, $12,000? That is through the fucking roof. I can understand maybe $5000, but goddamn, $12? I understand you got to stay in bounds and shit with the law but that’s just way too crazy. Like, whoever’s running this shit, out of their mind.

 

MYD: Do you think part of it they’re just doing it to make money?

 

FC: Of course. Why do you think they have those cameras on the freeway? They’re in debt. $12 gees for a DUI, sorry buddy that’s too much.

 

MYD: So I’m guessing you wouldn’t drink and drive again.

 

FC: (Laughs) Never. Unless I move somewhere else. Nah, I’m just kidding. I’m not drinking and driving any more. It’s not worth it whatsoever.

 

MYD: Any final thoughts on the whole experience?

 

FC: Yeah, final thoughts is, the jail system out here is so amazingly gangster and crazy, and nobody should ever experience that. Like I saw so many guys in there, so scared for no reason, they were just like shitting their pants. And I felt so bad for them. I was like you were in a fight with your wife, and now you’re in here and have to see all this super crazy gangster, meth head like insane dudes, it’s retarded. Like the jail system out here, it needs to stop, it’s like prison, it’s so horrible, so that’s all I got to say. Noone should ever experience the jail system out here, it needs to be outlawed, it’s so bad, seriously.

 

MYD: Ok, thanks very much Fred! I appreciate your time.