Two Juneau women who were both arrested for suspicion of drunk driving in two unrelated incidents on Saturday were arraigned over the weekend before a magistrate judge and appeared in court Tuesday for further proceedings.
Both Melissa A. Derr, 30, and Lorine Michelle Day, 41, entered a not guilty plea before Judge Thomas Nave on Tuesday.
Nave continued bail at $5,000 for Derr, a full-time mom and substitute teacher. Derr faces one felony charge of third-degree assault and one misdemeanor DUI charge after she was involved in a car crash on Douglas Highway just past 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Third-degree assault is a class ‘C’ felony that can carry up to five years in prison, and driving under the influence is a class ‘A’ misdemeanor that can carry up to one year in prison.
Prosecutors allege Derr drove a full-size truck across the center line on the road and collided with a second vehicle driven by a 65-year-old woman. The woman was placed onto a flat board with her neck in a brace and taken to the hospital for an evaluation, according to an affidavit filed on Sunday by Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp.
“While at the hospital, she had multiple x-rays and a CAT scan because of the concern for injury to her neck,” the affidavit states. “On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most pain she has ever felt, (the woman) described the pain as a four or five. She indicated her neck was very sore, but that she was cleared to go home.”
At the scene of the accident, Derr agreed to a field sobriety test, but was unable to complete the test because she was unable to stand up without assistance, the affidavit states. Police also found empty cans of beer and liquor in her vehicle.
Nave appointed the public defender agency to represent her and scheduled further proceedings for Feb. 24.
Court records show Day faces one misdemeanor DUI charge and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. She was arrested just before 4 p.m. Saturday in the 3000 block of Douglas Highway for driving under the influence with an 11-year-old child in the vehicle, according to the police report. Day told the judge she works for the state of Alaska Department of Administration.
The judge did not specify what her blood alcohol level was, just that it was more than the legal limit.
Nave released Day on her own recognizance and scheduled a representation hearing for March 1, a pretrial hearing for April 9 and a jury trial for April 17.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (26)
Add commentDrunks should not be allowed to teach
I hope Derr's teaching credentials are suspended. Shame on her.
Day too
I hope Day is moved out of the Administrative Branch of the State. She's a bad example for co-workers she's supposed to be administering to.
The article said Derr was a
The article said Derr was a substitute teacher; the credentials to sub are a high school diploma.
"Drunks"
Just for the record, these two people have entered not guilty pleas. I suggest that you all, with your fingers pointed, save these comments until after these two "drunks" have had their day in court and are proven guilty...or not...
BAC
Anymore, if your blood alcohol content is over the legal limit, you are guilty. There is no defense unless you can challenge the BAC itself. In one of the cases above, the judge has already accepted that as fact.
Yeah. Good idea. Let's take
Yeah. Good idea. Let's take away their ability to earn money to pay their fines and any restitution. That makes sense. How does this affect a person's ability to perform administrative functions?
why is this news?
Is there really nothing else to write about? this stuff happens every day, it is sad that this is considered news!
@orionsbow1
You can challenge the BAC. The police have to have it calibrated once a month by the state. I actually got off a dwi because it wasn't calibrated that month along with several others. Thanks to Dave Mallet we all walked. Than again that was 15 years ago. So yes it can be challenged. It's the blood test that is accurate and doesnt lie.
It's raining out
You must be so proud.
Bull
Im sorry but DERR does not have a job, she got fired. Full time mom? HA! Ya what a mom she is! having your kid in the car with you when you are drunk on MULTIPLE occasions? AND having EMPTY cans of beer and liquor in your truck....proves...YOU ARE GUILTY. Of course she is going to plead not guilty...she is going to try and WEASEL her way out of it, but to be honest, she needs SERIOUS help and deserves to be in jail. It's best for her and for her daughter and everyone around her that she jeopardizes with her drinking problem. PERIOD.
LingLing
I think you need to open up a can of Shut It. She made a bad choice as all of us has at one time or another. Don't throw your rocks at glass houses. She is a great person & has a heart of gold. I suppose you have never done anything that you regret....
JinJuneau....
Having empty, sorry, EMPTY cans of BEER doesn't prove or DISPROVE guilt. If I have A gun in my CAR, it doesn't mean THAT I am guilty OF murder. Now I'm not...saying...they...ARE INNOCENT. or...THEY ARE GUILTY. I just wanted TO play devil's ADVOCATE for a minute, and ALSO MAKE fun of the weird WAY you capitalize RANDOM words. Drinking and DRIVING is bad, and PEOPLE shouldn't do it UNDER any circumstance, especially when THERE is a child IN the VEHICLE.
Just because she works for
Just because she works for the Department of Administration means absolutely nothing.
She is a state-worker just like thousands of other people in town.
My two cents worth
Innocent til proven guilty in this country last time I looked. These two will waste the states money and drag this out for a couple of years. Plea-out for treatment,tie some lawyers up at our expense. Insurance company's don't pay out for DUI so the victim will be STUCK with the medical bills. It's the AK way. Now this BuNNy says if DUI offenders lose their right to drink if convicted the FIRST time,jail for 20 years if busted a second time. Now that would fix em but good. Humm de dum,same ole same ole...
It is deplorable that a
It is deplorable that a "full-time mom and substitute teacher" would get into a vehicle so intoxicated to the point that she could not even complete a field sobriety test. I know alcoholism sucks and people under the influence have poor decision-making ability but I hope she feels the full effects of her choices. People who drive drunk usually don't get in an accident the first time. From the MADD website: "An average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before first arrest."
And what good does it do to advocate suspending the license of these two moms? According to the MADD website: "50 to 75% of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive on a suspended license."
Ms. Derr is very fortunate that she did not kill the other driver.
http://www.madd.org/statistics/
For all you do, this Bud's for you!
Now Ms. Derr knows where the phrase "getting Smashed" comes from.
You both are in a heap of trouble - good luck.
Come on folks,
Don't be mean. Good Grief!
The situation was bad enough.
More proof...
that there is hope for common ground... because I agree completely with what @akbdguru said... The rest of you extremists, chillax! The first two blogs in particular are ridiculous, given there has been no resolution to the cases. Oh, and jinjuneau... you really need to listen to 4th gen... Your use of Caps and villifying the defendant have already signaled most readers to disregard your childish comment.
Wolfmagic, you've obviously
Wolfmagic, you've obviously got a keen ability to recognize genius when you see it. I knew there was something I liked about you!
Jinjuneau is that Jennifer?
Jin must have a personal vendetta against Miss Derr. How are you privy to information that she got fired from her job?If this is who I think it is, I believe that it is the pot calling the kettle black. Better to focus on your own misdeeds JinJuneau. Or should I say Gin juneau??
Wow! I love the way the
Wow! I love the way the venom is flying in these posts!! Keep it up, gang! This is great entertainment.
I think its hilarious that
I think its hilarious that people are so willing to rush to judgment on the accused. Remember boys and girls we have a legal system here and the accused should be allowed to travel through the system before you start labeling them....just saying....
I think we should all drink a
I think we should all drink a half rack of beer and at the same times we will all get into our cars and hit the freeway. Lets all have a good time while drinking, heck lets get out and see Juneau, drunk or not. If someone is too sober to drive kick his a@$ out of the drivers seat fill the beer holder up with a fresh beer and get out on that road. Its ok if we hit someone cause we wont remember in the morning, our car might be dented or totaled but heck cars are a dime a dozon, mater of faked imm gettitnin g kinda drumk righnt noww and im goingh fromr a drimve. Seea yall out on thew toadr. yeeahhaaa!!
Yeah LingLing I think you do
Yeah LingLing I think you do need to open up a can of Shut up. Once i threw a rock at a bullet proof glass house and the owner came out and yelled at me and at that moment I myself opened up a big can of "Shut up"!
Them drunks
Yeah, I say we hang 'em. Hang 'em high down at Marine Park. "Ceptin that we oughta wait till tourist season so's we can have a really big show...
Lorine Michelle Day
This is the type of person the state hires? Sad, just sad.