Tam Valley Man Juggles Multiple DUI Cases

A 50-year-old Tam Valley man who late last month for a series of drunken driving arrests appeared in Marin Superior Court Wednesday to outline a schedule for his two cases originating in Marin.

Timothy McGowan could face up to two years in jail after being arrested on suspicion of DUI three times in three days from May 25 to May 27. The first and third arrests were in San Rafael and Novato, respectovely, while the second occurred in San Francisco, which led to some legal jockeying Wednesday between the Marin County District Attorney’s Office and defense attorney David Vogelstein, who was filling in for McGowan’s attorney Gary Kauffman.

In scheduling court hearings in which McGowan is expected to enter a plea, the DA’s office argued against having those hearings occur on the same day in both Marin and San Francisco. They had been set for June 20.

Vogelstein argued that the prosecution hoped to stagger the cases so as to get a conviction in one so that they could amend their charges in the others. Having multiple prior DUI convictions could lead a felony DUI conviction, under California law, and McGowan has one prior DUI conviction from 2009 in San Francisco.

If each of the cases proceeded at the same time, they would all involve misdemeanor charges, Commissioner Beverly Wood noted.

After some debate, Wood set the next Marin hearing for June 21, one day after the scheduled hearing in San Francisco.

Vogelstein explained after the court appearance that there was much more to McGowan’s story than his alleged drinking-and-driving binge. McGowan’s mother died on her kitchen floor of a burst artery and McGowan learned of her death when he went to give her a Mother’s Day present, Vogelstein said. McGowan has had a very difficult timing coping with the loss, he said.

“This is a sad case, it is not a vengeful case where someone is thumbing their nose at the law and deliberately ignoring their alcohol problem,” Vogelstein said.

McGowan remains in custody at the Marin County Jail on $50,000 bail.