Around 8:00 p.m. this past Sunday a cell phone caller told police that she observed a man, appearing to be drunk, getting into a car with a baby. Police responded to the call and located the defendant, 26 year old Paul Shaughnessy exiting a store and getting into his car not far from the place where he was initially observed by the caller. Police detected a strong odor of alcohol and asked Shaughnessy to take field sobriety tests. He refused. Police then noticed a child under the age of one in the back of the pickup truck Shaughnessy was driving. The child was not buckled. Shaughnessy was arrested for OUI and child endangerment while OUI. The case is pending in the Plymouth District Court.
Read Article: Man Arrested, Charged With DUI Had Child In His Car
The OUI Child Endangerment law in Massachusetts is set out under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 24V. The law states that anyone who is guilty of OUI in Massachusetts and has in his car a child fourteen years old or younger shall be sentenced to at least ninety days in jail and for up to two and one half years in jail. The penalty for second and subsequent offenders is much more severe and the crime then would be a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
Attorney Stephen Neyman is a Massachusetts OUI Lawyer with over twenty years experience defending people accused of drunk driving. If you have been charged with this crime in Massachusetts call our office now at 617-263-6800 or contact us online.
Si usted habla español llamada nosotros en 617-877-6270 y pide Maria Rivera, nuestro español que habla a asistente de abogado.