Drunk Driving

An LAPD officer who pleaded no contest Monday to driving under the influence was sentenced to 20 days of community service. Humberto Angel Najera, who was a narcotics investigator for the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Division, was also ordered to participate in an alcohol rehabilitation program for three months. For community service, the 27-year-old officer will collect trash or remove graffiti, said Deputy City Atty. Harvey Crespy.

As of Monday morning, there were 25 drunk driving arrests in Ventura County since the start of the Memorial Day weekend, compared to 37 over the same period last year. The motorists were arrested between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Statewide, the CHP reported 1,576 drunk driving arrests, down from 1,757 arrests statewide for the same period last year. Beefed-up patrols for the holiday weekend were scheduled to end at midnight Monday.

A preliminary hearing will begin today in Pomona Municipal Court for a Glendora man who prosecutors say has one of the worst drunk-driving records in the San Gabriel Valley. Charles G. Hendrickson, 41, could face a maximum sentence of five years in state prison if convicted again of driving under the influence of alcohol and other related charges. It would be his 14th drunk-driving conviction in 10 years. Hendrickson was last arrested for drunk driving in San Dimas last Sept. 3.

President Bush, calling drunk driving "one of the most deadly scourges" of our times, promised Monday to keep up pressure to get intoxicated drivers off the road. Bush signed legislation declaring this National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week and issued a proclamation saying: "As we prepare to celebrate the holidays and rejoice in the promise of the new year, it is fitting that we pause to remember the perils of drinking and driving."

Socialite heiress Paris Hilton was charged Tuesday with two counts of misdemeanor drunk driving in connection with her arrest earlier this month in Hollywood. Police arrested Hilton Sept. 8 after officers noticed her Mercedes moving erratically near Selma and Wilcox avenues. Hilton failed a field sobriety test and her blood-alcohol level was at California's legal limit of 0.08%, authorities said.

A shorter holiday helped reduce the total number of drunk driving arrests by the California Highway Patrol in Ventura County over the New Year's holiday maximum enforcement period when compared to last year, officials said Thursday. There were 15 arrests for drunk driving over a 30-hour period between 6 p.m. Tuesday and midnight Wednesday, said Officer Dave Cockrill of the CHP's Ventura office.

Superior Court Judge Diana Hall was arrested and booked for investigation of drunk driving after sheriff's deputies responded to a weekend disturbance at her Santa Ynez home. Deputies pulled over Hall's car on California 246 at 9:30 p.m. Saturday and, while questioning the 52-year-old judge about the disturbance call, smelled alcohol on her breath, said Sgt. Phil Willis. Hall failed a field sobriety test and was arrested, Willis said.

Dale Ellis of the Seattle SuperSonics was convicted by a Seattle District Court jury today of drunk driving and reckless driving. The three-man, three-woman jury returned its verdict on the two counts after deliberating more than 10 hours over two days. Ellis, 30, denied that he was drunk when he crashed his Mercedes-Benz into a freeway ramp divider Jan. 12 in Seattle. He did admit having several vodka cocktails before the accident.