By Jack Wang
WOODLAND, Calif. – On Friday in Yolo County Superior Court, a jury trial reconvened for a person charged with misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and drunk driving. The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office had initially charged the accused with a misdemeanor count of child endangerment but later dropped that charge.
The accused, represented by Deputy Public Defenders Sawyer Kemmerly and Ron Johnson, pleaded not guilty.
The trial resumed with testimony from the dispatch officer, who said she received a call from a homeowner in Woodland. The caller reported that the accused—identified as the daughter or daughter-in-law of the household—was at the residence with her young children. Due to audio issues, the court proceeded to hear from the next witness.
Officer Arriola of the Woodland Police Department testified that he was the first to arrive after the dispatcher’s call. He said the accused had driven back to the home in a black pickup truck, which was parked at an angle in front of the garage, blocking the sidewalk and part of the road. However, the accused maintained that she had been home drinking at the scene.
Based on his training, Arriola said he suspected the accused of driving under the influence. He added that in his experience conducting 20 sobriety tests, “at most one” did not result in arrest.
Arriola testified that the caller provided him with video footage from the home’s security cameras. The footage showed a black pickup truck pulling up to the garage at an angle. Another clip showed the truck leaving the front yard, though the driver was not visible.
Body camera footage from Arriola also showed Officer Griffin, who arrived later to assist. Arriola said Griffin apprehended and arrested the accused while Arriola was still speaking with the homeowner.
During cross-examination, the defense emphasized that when Arriola arrived, the accused was outside her vehicle, standing in the front yard with one of her children.
Officer Griffin testified that he arrived after Arriola and also observed the black pickup truck parked “illegally” in front of the garage. Before conducting a sobriety test, Griffin said he asked the accused whether she had any medical conditions such as diabetes, to which she replied, “No.”
The prosecution played Griffin’s body camera footage, showing him standing near the garage while the accused stood on the front lawn holding one of her children. The video depicted the accused struggling during the sobriety test—she could not consistently count starting from “1001” or walk a straight line for the required number of steps. Griffin testified that her performance led him to suspect intoxicated driving.
Additional footage showed the accused resisting arrest and refusing to admit to driving under the influence. While restrained on the ground by three officers, including Corporal Dulai, she repeatedly said she had drunk earlier in the morning but had not driven. The officers asked whether she wanted to walk to the patrol car or be placed in a WRAP restraint device, but she did not respond.
Under cross-examination, Griffin acknowledged that he had not seen the accused driving and was unaware that she was taking Zoloft, a psychiatric medication, until after the arrest.
Corporal Dulai testified that when he arrived, he saw Officers Arriola and Griffin restraining the accused. He said they offered her several opportunities to stand up and walk to the patrol car, but she did not respond. Dulai also confirmed that he did not see the accused driving.
Testimonies were scheduled to resume later that afternoon. During the morning’s cross-examination, the defense urged the officers to present more concrete evidence linking the accused to the alleged DUI. None of the three officers confirmed witnessing her driving or obtaining footage proving she had been behind the wheel.
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