Man With 9 Drunk-Driving Convictions Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison

A Simi Valley man with nine drunk-driving convictions was sentenced Friday to two years in prison after evading authorities for nearly seven years, prosecutors said.

Linwood Rose, 34, was sentenced after he pleaded no contest this week in Municipal Court to charges stemming from a June 18, 1987, traffic accident in Van Nuys, Deputy City Atty. Sharyn Siskel said. Rose was convicted Thursday of driving under the influence of alcohol with prior convictions and driving with a suspended license.

Rose, who failed field sobriety tests and exceeded blood-alcohol levels after the 1987 accident, never showed up for trial and a warrant for his arrest was issued in November of that year, Siskel said. At the time, Rose was living in Van Nuys and had already been convicted of drunk driving on five previous occasions.

Rose subsequently moved to Simi Valley. In Ventura County, he was convicted of drunk driving in 1988, 1990 and earlier this year. But authorities there were apparently unaware of Rose’s outstanding arrest warrant in Los Angeles, Siskel said.

“It’s not the intent of the system for these people to move around and to be lost track of, but it is possible for people to slip through the cracks,” said Karen Cullie, the executive director of the Los Angeles County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Police finally put the brakes on him Sept. 10 after he was involved in his ninth alcohol-related crash in Reseda, for which he was convicted and faces another sentencing Monday in Van Nuys Municipal Court. Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Gruber said Rose has agreed to a three-year prison term in connection with this case, but it will be up to a judge to impose the sentence.

After the latest accident, Rose fled but was captured after “a couple of witnesses pursued him and later officers took him into custody,” Los Angeles Police Detective George Cardenas said. Lila Mary Grimila, the driver of the other vehicle, was injured in the accident, which sent her car crashing into a tree and fence.

Information on whether others have been injured in his previous accidents was unavailable.

Since Rose’s convictions began more than a decade ago, the California Legislature has passed tougher laws aimed at stopping drunk driving.

In 1990, California adopted laws calling for instant license suspension and a lowering of blood-alcohol levels to 0.08%.

Last year, the state also raised the penalty for misdemeanor drunk-driving offenses to a maximum $1,000 fine and one year in jail. Another new law requires twice-convicted drunk drivers to equip their cars with a breath analysis device that prevents them from starting their engine if they have a blood alcohol level higher than 0.02%.

Gruber said she did not know whether Rose had a breath analysis device installed in his truck at the time of the Sept. 10 arrest.

A new assault on repeat offenders will begin Jan. 1, 1995, when a state law sponsored by state Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) takes effect.

The new law requires unlicensed drivers to permanently forfeit their cars when caught driving on state roads. The law stipulates that the unlicensed driver must be the owner of the car and he or she must have a prior conviction for driving with a suspended or revoked license or without a license within the past five years.

Another new law, by state Sen. Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco), also will take effect Jan. 1 and allows authorities to impound for 30 days the car of anyone caught driving with a suspended or revoked license or without a license.