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Shooting Victim Rachel Silva allegedly had a .15 blood-alcohol level and tested positive for marijuana when she and her 8-year-old son were shot by off-duty San Diego police Officer Frank White, according to search warrant documents unsealed Monday.

The documents also say that White was “in fear of his and his wife’s safety” and didn’t see Silva’s son in the passenger seat when he fired five shots at Silva’s car, San Diego DUI criminal defense attorneys report.

The documents, eight search warrants and the affidavits filed to obtain them, were unsealed Monday by Judge Harry Elias and are now public.

They show Oceanside police asked for and received authorization to search Silva’s and White’s cars and to obtain Silva’s and her son’s medical records, surveillance videos, cell phone records and the air bag computer in White’s car.

Three judges had previously sealed the documents at the request of Oceanside police.

During the March 15 incident, Silva was shot twice in the right arm, and her son was shot once in the left leg. No charges have been filed in the case, which police say culminated an apparent road rage incident.

Police have said White was driving south on Old Grove Road with his wife about 9:15 p.m. in a Mercury sedan. Silva was exiting a nearby Shell gas station onto Old Grove at the same time, with her son in the car.

In the affidavits, and in the statement released by police last week, police say a witness reported that Silva nearly crashed her car into White’s, and that White swerved to avoid a crash. White then pulled into the parking lot of a Lowe’s home improvement store, police said.

Police said a witness reported that Silva was “tailgating White’s car, revving the engine, and yelling and screaming as she followed” White’s car into the parking lot.

White stopped his car, and Silva pulled her Honda to the left side of his car. Police wrote in the affidavits that Silva was still revving her engine and was “so close Franklin could not open his door.” White, the documents say, could not hear what Silva was shouting.

“Franklin White pulled out his gun in an attempt to force the aggressive driver away,” police write in the affidavits.

Police have said White then backed away from Silva’s car and stopped. Silva sideswiped White’s car as she backed up, and White opened fire as the two cars passed each other. One round shattered White’s window and the passenger window of her car.

A .15-blood alcohol level is nearly twice the legal limit for driving. In an interview, Silva denied she had been drinking or was high before the incident. She was driving on a suspended license as a result of two previous DUI convictions. She has not given a statement to police nor does she have an obligation to do so.

Attorneys have filed claims against the city of San Diego on behalf of Silva and her son, the first step in possible lawsuits against the city.

The attorneys had requested to photograph Silva’s Honda, and Elias ruled Monday that they should be allowed to do so within 72 hours.

Four news organizations filed a motion last week to have the search-warrant documents unsealed. They included the San Diego Union – Tribune, KFMB/Channel 8, KGTV/Channel 10 and KNSD/Channel 7/39, San Diego DUI criminal defense lawyers discovered.

www.SanDiegoDrunkDrivingAttorney.net

What a person must do within 10 days of being arrested for a San Diego DUI

10. If you need to save your driver’s license or privileges, your San Diego DUI attorney has only ten (10) calendar days to contact DMV!

Do not schedule yourself. If you contact DMV to schedule a date conflicting with your San Diego DUI attorney’s calendar, DMV will not reschedule and you may not get the San Diego DUI attorney of your choice. There is no rush as long as your attorney contacts DMV by the 10th day from your arrest.

9. The ten (10) day time limit is computed from the Issue date of the SUSPENSION/REVOCATION ORDER AND TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE. If time is running out or you are late, contact an attorney ASAP.

8. This ADMINISTRATIVE PER SE SUSPENSION/REVOCATION ORDER AND TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE is the California DMV paper which you should have received.

7. Even if you did not receive this DMV paper, the California DMV will probably take action against your driving privileges.

6. Even if you have a license from another state, and even if the officer did not take your license, that state may also take action against your driving privileges.

5. This TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE ENDORSEMENT is valid for only thirty (30) days from the issue date.

If a DMV hearing is requested within ten (10) days, your DMV TEMPORARY will be extended & there will be a stay (delay) of any suspension until the outcome of your DMV hearing is determined.

4. Do not confuse this initial 30 day TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE with your court date!

The DMV and criminal proceedings are separate and independent. The outcome of one almost never affects the other. Sometimes the officer or the DMV paper confuses or misleads you to believe that the TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE is good “until the court date”. If there are approximately thirty (30) days from your arrest date to your court date, this may just be a dangerous coincidence. There usually are months before your DMV hearing takes place.

3. There are three (3) issues at the hearing if you completed a chemical test. (See reverse side of DMV paper.)

Issues are whether the San Diego DUI officer had probable cause to stop or contact you or whether the chemical test evidence is beatable.

2. The DMV has the burden of proof to prevail on all three (3) issues. If DMV meets the burden of proof on two (2) issues, you win!

1. All a San Diego DUI – DMV defense lawyer has to do is knock out one (1) DMV issue to save your license & you avoid that reissue fee and/or Proof of Insurance SR-22 filing.

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