• 19
  • January
    2011

Visitors to downtown Austin are no doubt accustomed to the sometimes extraordinary sights provided by an otherwise vibrant cityscape. However, on the night of Friday, January 7, they were greeted with a highly unusual sight: two men being arrested for DWI for riding a horse and a mule through the city's crowded entertainment district.

Reports from the evening indicate that the two men, Samuel O. and Jose R., were navigating Austin's busy streets on the animals for several minutes before being stopped by law enforcement officials who later determined that they were inebriated.

Both Samuel O. and Jose R. were arrested for DWI and taken to jail. (According to Jose R.'s arrest affidavit, his mule was classified as a "motor vehicle" under Texas law because it was "a device in, on or by which a person or property is, or may be, transported or drawn on a highway.")

As for the horse and mule, they were placed in the police horse trailer and taken to a nearby animal shelter.

The judge eventually refused to sanction the DWI charges against Samuel O. (who was riding the horse) and he was later released that same evening.

The DWI charges against Jose R. (who was riding the mule) were eventually dropped by prosecutors.

County Attorney David Escamilla indicated that the decision not to charge Jose R. was hastened by the dearth of case law indicating that such charges had held up in court.

"We were surprised there is more case law on drunken cowboys in Ohio and Pennsylvania than we found in Texas," said Escamilla.

Authorities are still uncertain as to why Samuel O. and Jose R. decided to ride the horse and mule through the streets of downtown Austin or to whom the animals belong.

Please remember, if you are arrested for driving while intoxicated and are thinking about trying to save money by using a public defender or handling the matter yourself, you may want to reconsider. An experienced DWI defense attorney will know the best way to handle your ALR hearing to protect your driver's license, as well as the strategies that the police and prosecutors are likely to use in their case. By having your own attorney at your side throughout the process, you will be protected from saying or doing anything that will be used against you in court.

Today's post was for informational purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Names have been withheld to protect the identity/rights of the accused.

Stay tuned for more from our Dallas criminal defense blog ...

Related Resources:

Sixth Street Cowboys Hoofed It West, But Couldn't Escape Posse (The Austin American-Statesman)