Blood test warrants new tactic against alleged drunk drivers
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

Police can now get a search warrant to draw blood when they suspect a driver is impaired in some way. Wharton County law enforcers started taking advantage of the opportunity over the Christmas holidays.

A new policy that lets police have blood drawn from suspected impaired drivers has been put into use in Wharton County.

In Texas, any magistrate - a judge or justice of the peace - can sign an evidentiary search warrant to draw blood in a suspected DUI or DWI case. Law enforcers have increasingly used this capability since a ruling two years ago by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals confirmed search warrants are a legal option in DWI cases.

So if a suspect refuses to take breath test, a search warrant to draw blood can be obtained. In Wharton County, this process began over the Christmas/New Year's holiday period.

El Campo Police Chief Jim Elliott said his department first used the norefusal warrant process on Dec. 21.

"Officer Justin Soza was the first to obtain a search warrant," Elliott said.

Soza had stopped a man who seemed drunk and allegedly had beer in his vehicle. The man, it later turns out, had two previous convictions for drunken driving. Soza contacted Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Tim Drapela, who issued the warrant to Drapela, who issued the warrant to test the suspect's blood. Paramedic Jimmy George Jr. then drew the blood at the police department.

Elliott said his department will continue to obtain samples for analysis in suspected driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated cases, using either their breath analyzer or the warrant method.

"This procedure is making it difficult to avoid a driving under the influence conviction," Elliott said.

Lt. Danny Marek of the Wharton County Sheriff's Department said his department has already used the warrants in "probably half a dozen" cases already.

"All of the justices of the peace are well versed on it and ready to go through with it," Marek said.

He said although the ability to force a person to have blood drawn might be a surprise to suspects, it is now the law and will be used.

"We would encourage our officers to seek that avenue if need be, to get accurate results on what occurred," he said.

Texas is the deadliest state in the nation when it comes to DWI fatalities, and half of those stopped on suspicion of impaired driving refuse to provide a blood or breath sample for analysis.