In California, people convicted of DUIs usually must sign an acknowledgement given to them by their probation officer. This document is called a Watson advisement, which advises them that if they continue to drive impaired and someone dies as a result, they could be charged with murder. Each time a person is convicted of DUI, they have to sign this agreement. Some people with multiple convictions have signed several Watson advisements. The Tribune reports on a man with multiple DUI convictions being found guilty of murder.
35-year-old William Riley Mobley was convicted of second-degree murder for his involvement in a 2016 crash near Arroyo Grande. The crash killed 68-year-old Richard Stabile of Santa Maria. At the time of the crash, Stabile had been inside his car waiting for a tow truck. Mobley then fled the scene of the crash.
Video surveillance had capture Mobley drinking about five beers roughly three hours before the crash. A blood-alcohol expert testified on Mobley’s behalf, stating that this would have placed his blood alcohol content at below the legal limit of .08 at the time of the crash.
Mobley had two earlier convictions for DUI in 2009 and 2010, and had advised in a “Watson advisement” that if he continued to drive impaired and someone died as a result, he could be charged with murder.
A jury comprised of six women and six men returned the verdict of guilty on charges of second-degree murder after less than a day of deliberations. Mobley was also convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI resulting in injury, driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher, and leaving the scene of an accident. Mobley also received sentencing enhancements for his previous DUI convictions.
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