VAN NUYS : After 3 Arrests, Man Gets 1-Year Sentence

A Van Nuys man with three convictions since March--two for drunk-driving and one for hit-and-run--was sentenced to more than a year in jail, according to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Michael Tinney, 33, of Van Nuys pleaded no contest to hit-and-run driving with property damage and driving under the influence and was found in violation of his probation Friday, said Deputy City Atty. Debra Siedorf.

“He appears to have a total disregard for police or law and order,” Siedorf said.

Tinney was convicted March 21 for drunk driving with a prior offense. The prior conviction occurred in June, 1989, said Siedorf.

The hit-and-run driving charge, which Tinney received while driving with a suspended license, stemmed from an arrest July 13, when Tinney crashed his pickup truck into a wooden fence and left without identifying himself.

Another charge came in connection with Tinney’s arrest Aug. 30 for drunk-driving. “He was in a white convertible and fishtailed in front of officers” at Balboa Boulevard and Hart Street, said Siedorf.

Tinney was fined $390, placed on five years probation, ordered to undergo a 1 1/2 years of alcohol education and have an ignition interlock installed on any vehicle he drives, Siedorf said.