A client of the Law Offices of Randy Collins, represented by Attorney Randy Collins, recently received what the presiding judge described as one of the rarest outcomes of her career: a plea agreement in a felony DUI causing injury case that allowed for same-day release despite an aggravated eight-year prison term being formally imposed. The case, which included a great bodily injury enhancement, shows how significant the right defense strategy can be even when the outcome initially seems like years in prison.
Details of the Felony DUI Case
Our client was charged with felony DUI causing injury under Vehicle Code section 23153(f), along with a great bodily injury enhancement under Penal Code section 12022.7(b), following a collision that left a victim comatose and paralyzed and, per the judge's later remarks, resulted in a fatality. Given the severity of the injuries and enhancement, our client faced the real possibility of a lengthy state prison sentence. Rather than proceed to trial, he entered a no contest plea to the felony DUI charge and admitted the great bodily injury enhancement.
At sentencing, the court formally imposed the aggravated term, which included three years for the underlying DUI conviction plus five years for the great bodily injury enhancement, for a total of eight years. Rather than remanding our client into custody to begin serving that term, the court relied on what is known as a Vargas waiver, allowing our client to be released that same day, with credit for the 480 days he had already served.
Under the terms of the agreement, if our client appears for a scheduled hearing on October 29, 2026, without any violations of his release conditions, the court will resentence him to the mitigated term of 16 months, a term already satisfied by the credit he has accrued, and the five-year enhancement will be stayed rather than imposed. If he violates any condition of his release before that date, however, the court retains the authority to impose the full eight-year sentence.
Until formal sentencing, our client is barred from driving under any circumstances, and his license remains suspended. He must also comply with all other laws and is subject to "Bravo" search terms, meaning he, his vehicle, and his property may be searched at any time, with or without a warrant or cause.
A Judge's Rare and Direct Warning
Before releasing our client, Judge Lindsey Martinez delivered what is known as a Watson advisal, formally warning that any future DUI resulting in a death would be prosecuted as murder, not a lesser offense. Judge Martinez was direct about how uncommon this outcome was, telling our client, "You are being given literally a second chance at life that virtually no person I've ever seen in your scenario has ever been given in my entire career in law."
Judge Martinez also addressed the stakes of any future offense in stark terms: "If you are ever to ever do this again and someone dies, you will go to prison for the rest of your entire life on earth as a convicted murderer. Justifiably so."
The court also acknowledged the role defense attorney Randy Collins played in securing this outcome: "Your attorney has secured for you a lifesaving plea agreement. [Attorney Collins] has saved your life. Based on this plea agreement, you owe him everything in your life."
Judge Martinez went on to urge our client to use this opportunity to make lasting changes: "You really need to do a full life reevaluation because you will utterly destroy countless lives, in particular the people that love you, if you were to do something like this ever again. […] So, if you have drug or alcohol issues, you need to address them now and get whatever help you need. Do all the services you need because no one will care about that if, God forbid, someone else dies while you're behind the wheel of a car in the future under the influence."
A Case That Reflects Decades of Experience
Plea agreements that allow for same-day release are rarely extended in cases involving a great bodily injury enhancement of this severity, particularly given the injuries described in this case. Courts typically impose a sentence that reflects the harm caused, and defendants tend to serve that time in full or nearly full. Here, the court instead formally imposed the aggravated term while opening a path, contingent on strict compliance, to a dramatically reduced final sentence. The rarity of this plea agreement is not a coincidence, but rather the outcome of the decades of practice experience and creative problem-solving behind our team at the Law Offices of Randy Collins.
For anyone facing a DUI charge involving injury in Orange County, California, call (844) 285-9559 to connect with a defense team that has secured results in even the most difficult circumstances.