Repeat Offender to Be Charged With DUI in Hellertown, Police Say

A Hellertown woman who has been charged and in one case pleaded guilty to DUI in the past will again be charged with DUI, borough police said in a news release Monday.

According to police, Kelly Lynn Braun, 34, of the first block of West Saucon Street, was stopped on the afternoon of Dec. 30 at W. Water and Harris streets for an alleged traffic violation and was then found to be operating her vehicle without the use of a required ignition interlock device.

The use of such devices is sometimes mandated by authorities when someone is convicted of or pleads guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police said Braun was also allegedly found to be operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and that her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was determined to be .08 percent, which is the legal limit for most drivers and the highest limit for all drivers.

According to court records, Braun was 21 when she was first arrested for DUI in Hellertown in September 2005.

In that case, she was charged with DUI-Highest Rate of Alcohol (.16 BAC+)-1st Offense; a misdemeanor charge to which she pleaded guilty in exchange for acceptance into Northampton County’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program, according to court records.

In 2006, as part of the agreement, Braun was admitted to ARD for a term of six months and ordered to complete an Alcohol Highway Safety Program, to pay court costs and fines, to undergo periodic/random drug and alcohol screenings, to perform 25 hours of community service, and to complete a treatment program, according to notes in the court records.

Approximately nine years later, in March 2015, Braun was again arrested for DUI in Lower Saucon Township, and this time charged with DUI-Highest Rate of Alcohol (.16 BAC+)-2nd Offense; a charge she later pleaded guilty to as part of an agreement, according to court records.

In that case Braun was sentenced to a minimum of 90 days and a maximum of 54 months in jail, ordered to pay a fine of $1,500 plus court costs, ordered not to consume drugs or alcohol and ordered to go periodic, random screenings for those substances, per court records.

As part of her plea agreement in that case, two other less serious charges were withdrawn, Braun received credit for any and all jail time served prior to her sentencing and she was eligible for immediate work release, however her license was suspended for a period of time not specified in the court documents.