WOODLAND, Calif. — An 83-year-old man facing multiple driving under the influence charges was ordered held on $100,000 bail Friday in Yolo County Superior Court, after a judge concluded there were no conditions short of custody that would adequately protect public safety.
The individual is charged with four counts of driving under the influence, with bail set at $100,000. Defense counsel argued the amount was unfeasible given the man’s financial circumstances and sought release on his own recognizance with alcohol monitoring through a SCRAM device, which the defense said had been effective in prior cases. Judge Danette Castillo Brown denied the request.
The 83-year-old has more than three prior DUI convictions, including enhancements for excessive blood alcohol levels, driving on a suspended license and probation violations. Deputy Public Defender David Muller argued that “further incarceration is not necessary.”
Muller told the court the accused “was wrong but not involved in an accident” and that the “only person he’s likely to hurt is himself, not the public at large.” He again requested release on own recognizance with a SCRAM device, citing earlier periods of compliance with monitoring conditions.
The prosecution countered that the man “was on probation in two separate cases for third time DUI’s.” In one case, Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Palumbo said “his blood alcohol was 0.27, .28, which is three times the legal limit of alcohol in California.”
Palumbo said that in the current case, “even though he was on probation for two separate DUI’s he was driving on a suspended driver’s license,” with a reported blood alcohol level of 0.27, .29. She added that three older DUI convictions had “washed out” under the law, dating to June 10, 2010, April 15, 2013, and a 1995 case in which “he caused injury to somebody other than himself by driving under the influence.”
She told the court that while on probation the accused had been ordered to use an ignition interlock device, which “has not prevented him from driving under the influence.” Palumbo argued that “a SCRAM device will detect that he is drinking, but it will not prevent him from drinking nor getting behind the wheel of a car.”
“There are no conditions that the Court can put on the defendant that will keep the public safe,” Palumbo said. “There is more than clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is an extreme public safety risk.” She added, “This court can set bail at an amount that a defendant cannot afford.”
Judge Brown denied release on own recognizance, granted the prosecution’s motion, and set bail at $100,000, despite the defense’s argument that the amount was unaffordable. Prosecutors also requested that a SCRAM device be imposed as a condition if bail is posted, a request the court granted. The next court date is Jan. 16 at 1:30 p.m. for a bail review hearing.
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