| For Immediate Release Case # 10WM09599
March 25, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
OFF-DUTY LONG BEACH POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED FOR DRIVING UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL
WESTMINSTER – An off-duty Long Beach police officer was convicted today of driving under the influence of alcohol and weaving in and out of traffic lanes. Eddie Sanchez, 30, pleaded guilty one misdemeanor of driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or more. He was sentenced to 20 days of community service, three years of informal probation, three months of first offender alcohol awareness courses, and was ordered to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim impact panel.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., on May 24, 2010, Sanchez had consumed several alcoholic beverages at a bar in Long Beach and left the bar to go to a friend’s house in Stanton. The defendant drove while under the influence of alcohol, stopped his 2003 Nissan Altima at green lights, and was weaving in and out of traffic lanes. While waiting at a red light, Sanchez failed to move when the light turned green. After several vehicles behind the defendant honked their horns, the driver in the car behind Sanchez got out of his own car, walked over to the driver’s side of the Sanchez’s vehicle, and turned off the engine.
A witness called 911 and Garden Grove police arrived at the scene. The defendant performed poorly on his Field Sobriety Test and exhibited signs of intoxication including slurred speech and emitting an odor of alcohol from his breath. At the time of the arrest, Sanchez had a blood alcohol level of .16 percent, two times the legal limit.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Pevney prosecuted this case.
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