As of October 1st, 2016, the New Hanover and Pender County District Attorney Office’s has implemented a new program for individuals caught drinking underage with or because of the use of a Fake ID. Here’s how this new underage drinking ticket deferred prosecution program will impact New Hanover and Pender County, NC:
Prior to this program starting, many individuals caught with Fake IDs simply were required to do more community service. However, with this new program, not only do offenders still have to do more community service, but, they also have to surrender their Driver’s License for a 60-day period.
Standard Underage Drinking Ticket Deferred Prosecution Program
Due to the large amount of underage drinking citations issued in the New Hanover and Pender County area, the District Attorney’s Office has an Underage Drinking Ticket Deferred Prosecution program in place to help mitigate the damage an Underage Drinking charge could have on a young person’s future.
Typically, the requirements are as follows:
- Written and signed admission of responsibility by the defendant for the charges;
- Completion of a certain amount of Community Service hours (dependent on the current charges and any previous history of Underage Drinking Citations);
- Participation and completion of the Street Safe Program;
- Completion of a one-page essay reflecting on what was learned during the Street Safe Program;
- Participation in the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Youth Offender Course;
- Observation of 2 hours of DWI Treatment Court within 60 days of entering the program; and
- 12 months of Unsupervised Probation.
Upon completion of these requirements, the charges would be dismissed and an individual could move forward with an expungement of the dismissed charges, thus protecting their record.
New Fake ID Underage Drinking Ticket Deferred Prosecution Requirements
However, due to the increased availability of Fake IDs and the danger these Fake IDs pose to the community at large, the New Hanover and Pender County District Attorney’s Office has added two significant requirements to the Underage Drinking Ticket Deferred Prosecution Program when it comes to Fake ID charges.
First, the amount of Community Service hours required will increase depending on the charges and circumstances involved.
Second, upon entering into the Underage Drinking Ticket Deferred Prosecution Program, an individual will be required to surrender their Driver’s License for a period of 60 days. If an individual is found to have driven during these 60 days, they will face a termination of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement. Upon completion of the 60 days, the individual’s Driver’s License will be returned to them at their DWI Treatment Court observation date.
As it is easy to tell, the loss of an individual’s Driver’s License for 60 days is the most significant change in the Underage Drinking Ticket Deferred Prosecution Program. Due to this strict requirement, the New Hanover and Pender County District Attorney’s Office believes this will cause underage individuals to think twice before using a Fake ID in New Hanover or Pender County.
Contact Us
If you have been charged with an Underage Drinking Citation or Fake ID Charge, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the Wilmington office of Minick Law, P.C. for a free consultation on your case.
