NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – On Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, Judge Carlton P. Biggs granted an alternative sentence for a man convicted of driving under the influence after the jail twice refused to pre-book him due to medical concerns.
The accused’s privately appointed defense attorney, Niranjan Fred Thiagarajah, requested that the court allow his client to serve 120 days in the MOST (Monitored Outpatient Sobriety Treatment) program instead of in jail. He cited persistent health-related complications that made booking into jail unfeasible.
The accused had already pleaded guilty in July to driving under the influence of alcohol. In addition to the 120-day jail sentence discussed at Friday’s hearing, he was sentenced to five years of probation, fines, a multiple offender alcohol program, an ignition interlock device, and counseling. The jail stay began in September, with Friday’s hearing maintaining the sentencing process.
Thiagarajah told the court that his client had once again been turned away from pre-booking due to high blood pressure. “I talked to the jail guys,” he said, explaining to Judge Biggs that the same issue had reoccurred despite the judge’s prior advice to “try again.”
Judge Biggs initially remarked that another booking might be unnecessary, but Thiagarajah clarified that pre-booking was required for his client’s enrollment in a treatment program. He emphasized that the probation office had approved the pre-booking twice, yet the jail continued to refuse admission even with the accused on prescribed blood pressure medication. The accused is now consulting a cardiologist to resolve the issue.
In response to the repeated refusals, Thiagarajah asked the court to allow an alternative surrender through the MOST program—an outpatient monitoring and treatment program in Orange County that uses SCRAM technology.
Given the circumstances, Judge Biggs approved the alternative sentence, ordering that the accused remain in the MOST program for the full 120 days outlined in his original jail sentence. A follow-up hearing in December was scheduled for proof of enrollment.
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