A relentless rise in violent crime in America’s cities was not sustained in many locations in 2017. However, violence still appears to be increasing in Texas’ capital according to Austin violent crime stats. A series of bank robberies is linked to the increase.

A report in the American Statesman noted the number of violent crimes in Austin rose by about 3 percent over 2016 figures. However, the figures were only based on calculations from Austin police through July.

The figures were released by Interim Police Chief Brian Manley at a city Public Safety Commission meeting in September.

The statistics were derived from the Uniform Crime report, a compilation of data by the FBI that defines violent crime as sexual assaults, robberies and aggravated violence. By the end of July police recorded 2,601 violent crimes including 16 homicides, 489 sexual assaults, 1,531 aggravated assaults and 565 robberies.

The Statesman reported the figures represent a modest increase of 76 incidents over the 2,525 violent crimes reported over the same period a year ago.

Austin is not known to be a city with high levels of violent crime. In 2016, the city saw a significant rise in violent offending. In July 2016, authorities marked an 11 percent rise in the number of violent crimes — the first big increase in almost a decade.

Police investigated a total of 21 homicides, 595 robberies, 453 sexual assaults, and 1,456 aggravated assaults.

The figures for the first half of 2017 are provisional in that they don’t yet account for population growth. A breakdown of the per capita rate was not available.

Manley said the two areas where police saw spikes in recent years are aggravated assaults and robberies, although robberies fell by roughly 5 percent so far from last year.

Robberies in the first seven months of 2017 included nine bank robberies and 11 “series” of robberies, which made up 75 separate cases, according to Manley.

The interim police chief suggested the series of robberies were pushing up overall violent crime stats. Manley said:

“These are individuals that are committing series, not just an individual robbery, but they’re following the same pattern, either choosing the same type of victim, the same type of establishment (or) the same (method),”

The spate of bank robberies in Austin resulted in arrests. The suspects were identified or arrested in nine of the 11 series of robberies.

Find out more about robbery and aggravated robbery on our website. If you have been charged with an offense of violence you will likely be facing a heavy sentence. Please call us today for a free consultation about your case.

Multiple DWIs can land you behind bars for long periods of time. Recently, a man from Fort Worth was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his sixth DWI driving conviction.

A report in the Cleburn Times-Review noted William Paul West was pulled over by a Texas State Trooper. He crashed his car into a utility pole in southern Parker County off of U.S. Highway 377.

A judge in Parker County found the 52-year-old man from Fort Worth guilty of his sixth driving while intoxicated charge. The judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

West was arrested by a Texas State Trooper in August 2016 after the accident on U.S. Highway 377. The trooper, a Parker County Sheriff’s deputy who was the first responder on scene, and the man who called 911 to report the incident reported West was so drunk he was having difficulty walking.

West was initially given field sobriety tests at the roadside. He was unable to complete them, police said.

The trooper contacted District Judge Craig Towson. He was granted a search warrant to collect a sample of the driver’s blood. When it was tested, the blood indicated West’s alcohol concentration was 0.361, more than four times the legal limit in Texas of 0.08.

Having a high blood/alcohol content as well as multiple previous drunk driving convictions is likely to land you in prison for a long time.

Assistant District Attorney Larry Fadler tried the case with Assistant District Attorney Abby Placke. He said:

“Not only did Mr. West have an extremely high alcohol concentration, he desperately did not want the judge or jury to have that information. The jury got to see video of him repeatedly telling the trooper he would fight him if they tried to take his blood, even with a search warrant. He knew the value that this information would have in proving his guilt.”

West reportedly told the state trooper he crashed was because his vehicle hit a patch of black ice, causing him to lose control.

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Swain who initially prosecuted the case derided West’s explanation as laughable given that he was driving in August.

“Coming up with that as his excuse for the wreck was a huge indicator that Mr. West was intoxicated.”

Placke said prosecutors wanted the jury to send a strong message to another drunk driver because the incident was West’s sixth DWI conviction. He has been jailed in the past for a DWI, and his alcohol concentration was extremely high.

In Texas, there are aggravating factors that will result in a defendant spending a considerable time in jail for driving drunk.

Some drunk driving offenses are felonies even for first-time offenders. If you have been accused of a DWI or a DUI, or Texas criminal defense lawyers can help you. Please call us today for a free consultation about your case.

The DWI breath test in Texas is one of the most common ways to charge a driver with being under the influence of alcohol. Although it gives a reading that indicates whether a driver is drunk, there are factors that can unfairly influence the test.

Some of these may relate to problems with the equipment. Or medical conditions and ways the test itself is conducted may have a bearing on the result.

Here are five factors to be considered that may impact the DWI breath test in Texas.

1 Faulty or Unreliable Breath Test Procedure

We assume police officers know how to administer a breath test but this may not always be the case. Breath test instruments may malfunction.

Breath machines respond to temperatures and will provide inaccurate readings if not calibrated to adjust to changes in ambient temperature.

An officer should observe the suspect for a period of time before administering a test. This is to make sure the suspect does not do anything to skew the result such as vomiting, smoking or belching. Typically, this should be about 15 minutes.

2 The Presence of Mouth Alcohol

A suspect may have other sources of mouth alcohol that affect a breath test. DWI breathalyzers capture a sample of breath from the suspect’s deep lung tissue.

Residual alcohol can linger in the suspect’s mouth due to dental work that traps small amounts of food soaked in alcohol in the suspect’s teeth or acid reflux.

Burping or regurgitating can also impact the test. These factors may be particularly important when borderline results are returned.

3 Medical Conditions

Medical conditions like Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), acid reflux, or heartburn can contaminate and skew DWI breath test results. These conditions can all create potential mouth alcohol situations.

If you suffer from one of these conditions a flow of acid travels from the stomach to the mouth.  When this occurs during or prior to a DWI breath test in Texas, the alcohol that travels from your stomach to your mouth masks the deep lung air that the breathalyzer measures.

4 Diet

Your diet may impact a breath test reading. Conditions that can skew a reading include diabetes and hypoglycemia. These conditions can trick a DWI breath test and result in a false high BAC as well as Atkins-type diets.

5 Rising Blood/Alcohol

There are situations in which you may not have been driving drunk but the test will show a blood/alcohol content above 0.08 percent.

A rising blood/alcohol situation occurs when your BAC was a higher level at the time you took the test than when you were behind the wheel.

Alcohol can take between 50 minutes and three hours, to absorb into your system. You may not have been drunk when you were driving but you were at the time of the test.

Given that the test is meant to find out if you were drunk when you were actually driving, this may be a false high BAC result.

The DWI breath test it is not always an accurate measure. Rather than measuring the amount of alcohol in your blood, it gauges the amount of alcohol in your breath and converts it to determine the amount of alcohol in your blood.

A breath test can be vulnerable to many outside influences. At the Medlin Law Firm, our experienced Fort Worth DWI/DUI defense lawyers can bring to light these inaccuracies and use them in your defense. Please call us today for a free consultation about your case .

Different U.S. states have different gun laws. That can cause a massive headache and pose potential trouble with the law for gun holders who travel between states. Now a woman is pushing for change in the barriers to guns being carried between states.

The firearm that Shaneen Allen was carrying when an officer pulled her over on a New Jersey highway could have sent her to prison for years were it not for a pardon from state governor Chris Christie, reported the Beaumont Enterprise.

The mother from Pennsylvania ended up in jail for 48 days. Now she is pushing for a measure that could shakeup handgun laws across the country.

Allen was pulled over in 2013 when she was driving on the Atlantic City Expressway and accused of making an unsafe lane change.

She told the police officer who pulled her over that she had a firearm and a Pennsylvania-issued concealed carry permit.

Allen spent 48 days in jail before being admitted to a pretrial intervention program. She was interviewed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2015 and eventually pardoned.

Christie has also pardoned residents of Florida and North Carolina who faced charges even though they legally possessed firearms in their home states.

Allen is supporting a measure that’s controversial on Capitol Hill. In late 2017, the GOP-led House passed a law to allow gun owners with a state-issued concealed carry permit to carry a handgun in any state that permits concealed weapons.

The measure is likely to face greater opposition in the Senate whose members did not vote on it before leaving for the year.

The measure pits gun control advocates who claim it overrides the rights of states to impose tougher gun control laws against gun rights activists who say it’s necessary so as gun owners can travel freely without being arrested in states with tighter laws.

The measure is a major priority of the National Rifle Association and attorneys general from 23 Republican states who wrote a letter in support of the measure.

Texas has liberal gun laws and allows people with a firearms license to openly carry their weapons in most places. Texans who travel to other states must abide by more stringent laws in many other places.

It’s easy to fall foul of the law in other states without realizing it. If you are facing gun-related charges in Texas or elsewhere, you should call an experienced Tarrant County attorney.

Assault can be a very serious offense in Texas. However, there are legitimate defenses in Texas assault cases. Here are some common questions our Fort Worth criminal defense lawyers are asked.

Is Self-Defense Ever an Effective Defense in an Assault Case?

Self-defense can be a defense in an assault charge. In Texas, someone is entitled to self-defense or the defense of a third party.

A classic example is when a homeowner assaults an intruder in his or her house. Of if someone attacks your child in public you are entitled to fight back.

If a person used force against another person, it can be a defense if they believed force was immediately necessary to protect themselves or another from the immediate use of force or a threat.

Can I Harm My Assault Case Defense in Texas?

Your conduct post-arrest could harm your defense. It’s very important to be careful about what you do or say.

One of the most common mistakes defendants make during an assault case is to talk to police officers and unwittingly incriminate themselves. Your Miranda Rights which an officer will read to you, state anything you do or say may be used in evidence against you.

You should give no information beyond the basics like your name, address, and date of birth. If you hire a criminal defense attorney, he or she will take over your case and ensure you don’t make any mistakes.

If you choose to talk to a police officer, you can fall into numerous traps. Police interrogators are very adept at getting information out of defendants. Even if you have a valid defense, a police officer will seek to undermine your case.

Your information may be taken out of context or used to corroborate other evidence that will undermine your case.

It’s also a mistake not to hire an experienced Texas criminal defense lawyer. Some defendants believe they can represent themselves. That’s invariably an error.

Another key mistake defendants make is to discuss their criminal case with family members and friends or to even post details on social media. In some cases, defendants contact the alleged victim of the assault or violate a protective order.

Are There Rehabilitative Options After an Assault Charge?

If you are convicted of assault, you might be able to get treatment as an alternative or in conjunction with incarceration. Anger management classes, therapy, and rehabilitation for substance abuse may be offered to you based on your situation.

People charged with assaults may be advised by their lawyer to seek counseling or anger management before being ordered to do so by the court to help their case.

Will a Judge Issue a Protection Order?

A protection order may be requested by the victim. This is sometimes done automatically, particularly in family member cases. The court will frequently enter a protective order. On many occasions, as a condition of bond, a court will order that the accused has no contact with the alleged injured party or witnesses.

Read more questions and answers about assault cases in Texas on our website or call The Medlin Law firm today.