Jeremy Brooks is not a drinker. Never has been. But when he made a career change from working in government to becoming a real estate agent, he discovered his new profession meant a lot of networking over drinks.
“Everything is a happy hour, and it’s expected that you go to network. They’re the drinking socialite kind of people, all much younger than me,” says Jeremy. “One afternoon, I went to a meeting with my preferred lender. I remember having two drinks and I don’t remember what happened after that.”
What Jeremy remember next was seeing the flashing red lights in his rear view mirror, and telling the police officer, “Thank you for stopping me because I shouldn’t be on the road.”
Jeremy blew a .09 on the breathalyzer test, just over the legal limit in Texas. Being taken to the drunk tank was the most humiliating experience of Jeremy’s life.
“I was so ashamed, and I felt disgusted with myself. I was just thinking, ‘I’m an idiot. I don’t do this.’ I was scared and I was praying that I didn’t hit anyone,” he said.
With his one free phone call, Jeremy called his wife and told her to contact Texas Legal. He had become a member years ago while working for the state of Texas to deal with a family law situation, but had never used his plan. That day, he was thankful it was there.
Jeremy didn’t even have to post bail to go home. The judge took one look at his completely perfect criminal record and let him go.
At home, Jeremy did some research into Texas Legal attorneys that handled drunk driving cases and decided on attorney Aaron Mueller. The police had footage of Jeremy’s reckless driving and arrest, where he couldn’t complete the sobriety test, so the case was pretty open and shut. He paid his fines to get his car out of impound and went to the drug assessment classes that his attorney recommended.
“The lady there laughed at me. She said, ‘You have the best history ever. I never get people like you here,’ and she didn’t have me take any more classes,” he said.
From there, it’s just been a process of showing up to his court dates and letting his attorney handle his case. While he didn’t speak to Mueller often, the clerk at the office was very responsive to Jeremy’s questions.
“I just sat back and trusted him. There’s a lot that he was doing behind the scenes, even if it didn’t look like much was happening,” he says.
A few weeks ago, Mueller approached the prosecutors, who agreed to drop Jeremy’s charge to a Class C misdemeanor, as long as Jeremy agreed to have a breathalyzer installed on his car ignition and do 48 hours of community service. He gladly complied, relieved to have the case over with.
Although it’s been a stressful experience, Jeremy has been thrilled with the service and savings he’s received from Texas Legal.
“If I didn’t have Texas Legal, I can’t imagine how much this would be costing me right now. They estimate that people pay at least $5,000 to 10,000 in legal fees after a DWI. I paid maybe $350 in court filing fees,” says Jeremy.
After this experience, Jeremy says he’ll never drop his legal plan. In fact, he tells all his friends they need to get one too because you just never know what’s around the corner.
“I don’t ever plan in getting in a car accident either, but if I don’t have car insurance, I’d be in serious trouble,” says Jeremy. “If I needed to cut other expenses, I would, but I’m not cutting Texas Legal – ever.”
Thank you so much, Jeremy, for sharing your story with us. We’re so glad we could be by your side you when you needed us!