SAN DIEGO – Jim Bishop, one of San Diego's top DUI Attorneys, impressively convinces judge to keep bail low and saves his client $150,000.

An off-duty sheriff's deputy accused of seriously injuring two men while driving drunk pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges of driving under the influence.

James Costello, a 41-year-old patrol deputy from the Lemon Grove substation, also faces allegations he caused great bodily injury to the victims when he crashed into them Nov. 6 on state Route 15 south of El Cajon Boulevard at 3 a.m.

If convicted, he could be sent to prison for up to seven years.
Superior Court Judge David M. Szumowski allowed Costello to remain free on $50,000 bond, but said that may change if the condition of either victim worsens. The judge denied a prosecutor's request to increase bail to $200,000.

Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler told the judge that Costello crashed his truck – a Ford 350 pickup – into the rear of a flat-bed tow truck that had stopped to assist a motorist in the center divide of the freeway.

The tow truck then slammed into the motorist's disabled vehicle, pinning two 37-year-old men between them. A California Highway Patrol report said Costello had a blood-alcohol level of .20 percent, over the legal limit of .08.

The prosecutor said the tow truck driver, John Coston, underwent a nine-hour surgery Tuesday in an attempt to save his legs. Even if the operation is successful, doctors have said they don't think Coston will walk again

The motorist, Alfredo Garcia, suffered extensive internal injuries and is still hospitalized and breathing through a ventilator, the prosecutor said.

Spieler told the judge two sheriff's deputies who were with Costello a few hours before the collision expressed concern about Costello's condition and offered to drive him home, but Costello declined the offers.

He has a previous conviction stemming from an April 2001 incident in which he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after the car he was driving plummeted from an on-ramp onto Interstate 5, the prosecutor said.

Costello later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor reckless driving and was placed on three years' probation.

Spieler said Costello suffered injuries in that crash that kept him on light duty at work until he recently returned to patrol duties.

Costello's lawyer, Jim Bishop, told the judge his client has been with the department for 12 years and has strong ties to the community. Bishop said Costello is currently enrolled in an 24-hour, in-patient program for alcohol abuse.

“Mr. Costello will not be driving; Mr. Costello will not be drinking,” Bishop said.



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