Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated

Legal Definition

A person commits aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs if, while driving a vehicle within New Mexico, the person has a blood- or breath-alcohol concentration of sixteen one-hundredths (.16) or more, causes bodily injury to another while driving under the influence, or refuses to submit to chemical testing after being arrested for DWI.

Possible Punishment

First offense: not less than 48 consecutive hours imprisonment, mandatory community service, fine up to $500, and ignition interlock for one year. Penalties escalate with each subsequent conviction; a fourth or subsequent offense is a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months imprisonment.

DWI Cases in Doña Ana County

Most DWI bookings in our records start with a traffic stop, a crash investigation, or one of the sobriety checkpoints that LCPD, the Sheriff's Office, and State Police run routinely around Las Cruces. After booking at the detention center, a DWI case actually runs on two tracks at once: the criminal charge moves through Las Cruces Municipal Court or Doña Ana Magistrate Court, while the Motor Vehicle Division starts a separate administrative action against the driver's license under the Implied Consent Act. The MVD deadline to request a hearing is short, and missing it costs the license regardless of what happens in criminal court.

First-offense DWI is a misdemeanor, but penalties stack quickly: mandatory ignition interlock, DWI school, license revocation, and jail exposure that grows with each prior conviction. A fourth DWI is a felony in New Mexico.

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