Source: LAKELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
A Florida woman has been sentenced after live-streaming a video of herself drunk driving last fall.
24-year-old Whitney Beall pleaded no contest after being caught driving while intoxicated. Prosecutors made sure the punishment was harsher than normal due to the absurdity of the crime.
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Beall was pulled over after a night of partying when she live-streamed her ride home using the mobile app, Periscope.
“I’m driving home drunk — let’s see if I get a DUI,” she drunkenly said into her phone’s camera while driving. “Driving drunk is not cool.”
Beall was surprised by how many people were watching her live stream.
“Oh my God, I didn’t realize I’d get this many people,” she said. “I am super drunk in the USA and the light is red.”
A concerned viewer who tuned into Beall’s live stream called 911, alerting the police about her activity. Lakeland police were able to find her after logging on to Periscope and finding her location. Beall was then given a field sobriety test which she failed. She also refused to take a breath test.
Beall received the common punishment for a first time DUI offense, which includes a six-month license suspension, 10 days of vehicle impoundment, and 12 months’ probation. On top of the typical punishment, Beall received 150 hours of community service and 10 day of weekend work, citing “she flaunted her endangering the community,” NBC News shared.
Beall’s arrest is part of the growing trend of searching social media for criminal activity.
“Criminals do sometimes give us clues as to what their criminal activity and behavior is,” Chief Bernadette DiPino of the Sarasota Police Department told Today. “They do post things on social media, which helps us.”
