Police arrest seven for DUI

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Seven people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Santa Barbara streets over the weekend, a number that law enforcement officials say is not unusually high, but is still troubling.
The first arrest came just before 5 p.m. on Friday after a resident called to report a traffic collision on Las Positas at Portesuelo.


Lt. Paul McCaffrey, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Police Department, said as an officer approached the intersection, he noticed a man walking away from the intersection and a badly damaged 1996 Honda Civic, which had struck a traffic light pole.
“No one was near the collision scene so the officer went back to contact the one person seen in the vicinity,” McCaffrey said.
He said the officer drove down Las Positas and eventually spotted the man hiding beneath some bushes. McCaffrey said Fredy Humberto Godinez, 25, crawled out from the underbrush, his shoes, shirt and dress pants covered in mud, was identified as the registered owner of the wrecked vehicle and was arrested for alleged DUI and hit-and-run.
Less than one hour later, police stopped 35-year-old Jesus Carino Clemente driving downtown without his lights on. McCaffrey said Carino was arrested for suspicion of DUI and driving without insurance.
On Saturday at 10:16 p.m., police stopped Jorge Tinoco, 24, while driving downtown without his lights on. McCaffrey said Tinoco was arrested for DUI, driving on a suspended license, no insurance and for violating his parole.
“His uncle, who was a passenger, happened to be the registered owner of the vehicle,” McCaffrey said. “He became upset because Tinoco did not tell him his license was suspended.”
Sunday at 12:30 a.m., McCaffrey said officers responded to a fight at 800 San Pascual St., where a witness pointed out a vehicle leaving the area driven by a person involved in the disturbance. While police couldn’t verify if the driver, Juan R. Cruz, 20, was involved in the fight, he was arrested for DUI.
One hour later, police stopped Victor Alexander Marquez, 29, for running a stop sign downtown and arrested him for DUI.
At 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, McCaffrey said police received a call that a vehicle driving the wrong way down a one-way street had stopped in a downtown parking lot. He said police found Gabriel Vito Chavez, 24, standing next to the vehicle, but denied driving or knowing anything about the car.
McCaffrey said the vehicle was registered to Chavez’s mother and he had the key in his pocket.
“Between the witness and one of Chavez’s companions, Chavez was identified as the driver,” McCaffrey said, adding that he was arrested for suspicion of DUI, driving on a suspended license and for being uninsured.
Rounding out the weekend was 52-year-old Raquel Maria Maurier, who was stopped downtown for driving without lights and was arrested for suspected DUI.
The string of DUI arrests in the city followed a close call last Wednesday morning when officials from the California Highway Patrol said an intoxicated 19-year-old woman from Santa Monica failed to negotiate a left curve on Highway 101 north of South Padaro Lane, ran off the fight side of the roadway and flipped the vehicle. Officials said the woman, identified as Emma Lee Ross, escaped the accident with minor injuries.
In mid October, a Camaro being driven by Beau James Robertson, 29, of Palo Alto, plunged off the San Ysidro overpass onto the highway.
Robertson’s two passengers, a 21-year-old woman and a 23-year-old woman, were thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead on the scene. Robertson sustained life threatening head injuries.
“As long as even one person is driving under the influence, we will work to get them off the streets,” said Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez. “Our goal is to keep our community safe from impaired drivers.”