By Simran Chahal
WOODLAND, CA – Yolo County Superior Court Judge Tom Dyer ordered an alcohol monitoring device place on Roque Gonzales Martinez as a condition of release prior to resolution of DUI (driving under the influence) charges here this week.
In June of this year, Martinez was allegedly driving under the influence with an excessive blood alcohol level leading to a collision and major property damage.
The prosecutor** asked the judge to place a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring) device on Martinez because “[t]his is his second DUI. His first DUI is from 2019 where he collided with a police officer’s vehicle.”
The deputy district attorney explained “in the new case, it’s 2 a.m., he loses control of his vehicle, he hits several street signs and rolls over coming to rest on a business’ lawn. His actions led to damaging the business’s sprinkler system and roof tiles from debris.”
Martinez, the DDA alleged, tried to walk away from the scene. “When someone stopped to see if [Martinez] was okay, he tried to get into their vehicle. His drinking and driving is a public safety risk,” asking for SCRAM to be placed on Martinez as a condition of release.
The deputy public defender** argued “that based on everything going on in the pandemic, lot of people are under a lot of stress. I believe we should give him the chance. Especially, in the early stages, we only ask for four weeks,” to allow sufficient time to go over reports and documents with Martinez about the case.
“I believe that this is remote enough that SCRAM would be unnecessary,” concluded the PD.
Judge Dyer stated “it sounds like there big property damages: rolling over, stop signs. These are two pretty serious DUIs and in close conjunction, so timing is of some relevance…there is a safety justification for the SCRAM device.”
The next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22 for further arraignment.
**The names of the counsel were inaccessible over Zoom.
