Criminal and Injury Attorney Arie Shamuilian of My Rights Law told Fox News Digital it’s likely that Heche will spend time in jail for the crash.
“In this case, there’s other video depicting her vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and crashing into the building,” Shamuilian explained. “I anticipate there could potentially be custody time with this case, given the circumstantial evidence shows her level of recklessness was pretty high here.”
Shamuilian, who works as a criminal defense attorney, explained why police might not have been able to get a blood or breath sample at the time of the crash.
“It’s my understanding that she was injured in this collision,” Shamuilian told Fox News Digital. “And in the state of California, if someone does not provide consent to submit to a blood or breath sample, the police need to obtain a warrant to get those blood or breath samples. Otherwise, it would be an unreasonable search or seizure.”
Shamuilian said Heche is “lucky” her charges are at the misdemeanor level.
“Given the level of her recklessness, and driving and her speed, she’s extremely lucky that it’s at the misdemeanor level,” Shamuilian told Fox News Digital. “And this is a case that shows the importance of why not to drink and drive.”