| For Immediate Release Case # TBA
March 23, 2010 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY CHARGED WITH DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL
AFTER DRIVING OVER FRONT LAWN
AND CRASHING INTO PLANTER
SANTA ANA – A deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after losing control of his car and crashing into a planter in the front yard of a Villa Park home. Mark Wayne Hewlett, 30, Orange, is charged with one misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 percent, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail. Hewlett is scheduled to be arraigned April 29, 2010, at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. The time and Department are to be determined.
Early in the morning on Dec. 13, 2009, Hewlett is accused of driving home from a friend’s house while intoxicated after consuming several alcoholic beverages. At approximately 1:45 a.m., the defendant is accused of losing control of his vehicle in Villa Park, driving up over the curb and across the grass, and crashing into a planter in the front yard of a home. The residence is the home of Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell.
A passing teenage motorist contacted his father, who called 9-1-1. When police arrived, Hewlett is accused of displaying objective signs of intoxication including emitting a strong odor of alcohol, having watery eyes, and a lack of balance. At approximately 3:30 a.m., an hour and 45 minutes after the crash, Hewlett is accused of having a blood alcohol level of .13 percent.
At the time of his arrest, Hewlett is accused of being in possession of a controlled substance, Xanax, for which he does not have a prescription.
Deputy District Attorney Brock Zimmon of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
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