No DUI Charges For Oakland Councilman De La Fuente
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / BCN) -- The Alameda County District Attorney's Office decided not to file misdemeanor drunken driving charges against Oakland City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente because prosecutors didn't think they could prove he was over the legal limit when he was driving, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
A California Highway Patrol officer arrested De La Fuente, 62, the night of Dec. 23 because he failed field sobriety and driver coordination tests, according to CHP spokesman Sam Morgan.
An officer had pulled over De La Fuente at the Fruitvale exit on eastbound Interstate Highway 580 around 7:30 p.m. that day after reportedly clocking him traveling at about 80 mph in a 65 mph zone and seeing him make unsafe lane changes, Morgan said.
Under California law, a motorist is considered to be driving under the influence when his blood alcohol level is .08 or higher.
Deputy District Attorney Teresa Drenick said De La Fuente's blood alcohol level "was on the rise" between the time that he was stopped and the time he was tested, but because of the lag time prosecutors didn't think they could prove he was drunk while he was driving.
They also didn't think they could prove their case because the preliminary tests were inadmissible, Drenick said.
De La Fuente was processed at the CHP's office at 3601 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland and then released to the custody of his wife, Elvia De La Fuente, Morgan said.
The councilman was driving alone in a 2006 Buick registered to him, according to Morgan.
De La Fuente was elected to the Oakland City Council in 1992 and ran for mayor in 1998 and 2006. He lost to Jerry Brown in his first race and to Ron Dellums in his second race.
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