BELLINGHAM RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT

If you are charged with driving under the influence or Reckless Endangerment in the Bellingham area, you first objective is to do anything possible to avoid the conviction and its most severe consequences.  Your Whatcom County criminal defense lawyer, following a thorough review of your case, will enter into negotiations with the prosecuting attorney attempting to reduce or even dismiss the original DUI charge.  One of the several possible amendments from DWI includes Reckless Endangerment in Bellingham.  

 (1) A person is guilty of reckless endangerment when he or she recklessly engages in conduct not amounting to drive-by shooting but that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.

Reckless Endangerment, despite the unusual definition, includes some very important improvements over a DUI, including no license suspension, no mandatory ignition interlock device and no mandatory jail.  It is still important to remember that if your driving under the influence charge is amended to reckless endangerment and you are later charged of another DUI related crime, then the reckless endangerment will be considered a “prior offense” and will enhance the mandatory penalties on the new charge.

Because reckless endangerment has no mandatory penalties and is not a reportable offense to the Department of Licensing, it is an improvement over a DUI.  Whatcom County prosecutors may agree to reduce a DUI charge to reckless endangerment under certain circumstances.

For more information on your DUI or Reckless Endangerment in Whatcom County contact one of the Bellingham criminal defense attorneys at the Law Firm of David N. Jolly.