Poway DUI Deputy Gets MADD Honor Award for 40 DUI Arrests in San Diego County last year, say attorneys.

“DUIs are a consistent problem, no matter where you are. “Cities all have the same problems, DUIs all across the board,” says Austyn Elmone. “It’s a problem everywhere. It affects everyone from a first day driver to a 50-year-old lawyer. Money isn’t an issue with [DUIs].”

Elmone also said that DUIs are something people tend not to think about happening, especially in their own town. “People don’t think about it, until they’re affected, like being in an accident, or losing a family member, or having a family member arrested [for DUI].”

Winning the award means a lot to Elmone, he said, because DUI enforcement is so important to him. “It’s one of those crimes you can put a stop to immediately,” said Elmone. “You can impact someone’s life, prevent them from doing it again, or even for the first time.”

Elmone said they catch more DUIs during the night shift, and on Fridays and Saturdays, but that DUIs can and are caught all the time. “There’s a wide array of ways to catch a DUI,” said Elmone. “In an accident, or sometimes people call in and report a DUI and follow them. Sometimes we catch them in simple stops [for other issues, like speeding or expired tags].”

It’s also not always easy to tell if someone is driving under the influence, said Elmone. “There’s no way to know if a guy is a DUI. Sometimes people are swerving all over the road and they just don’t know what they’re doing, they’re not drunk or high.”

Elmone’s fellow award-winners are David Toner from the Encinitas station, who made 142 DUI arrests; Rosa Patron from the Imperial Beach station with 67 arrests; Jerry Jiminez from the Lemon Grove station with 28 arrests; Kristy Drilling from the San Marcos station with 50 arrests; William Price from the Santee station with 53 arrests and Kenneth Werner from the Vista station, with San Diego DUI 74 arrests.