News: Santa Clara deputy previously charged with DUI

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

News: Santa Clara deputy previously charged with DUI

Santa Clara deputy charged with DUI in 2001

Cupertino -- The Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy who struck and killed two competitive bicyclists Sunday was charged in 2001 in Los Angeles with drunken driving and engaging in an exhibition of speed, court records show.

The two drunken-driving charges against James Council - one count for allegedly being intoxicated and one for having a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 percent - were dismissed by the Los Angeles city attorney's office in a plea deal during the arraignment process, the prosecutor who handled the case said Tuesday.

Council pleaded guilty only to engaging in a speed exhibition, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation and fined $713, including court costs, said Deputy City Attorney Larry Shelley. Shelley said he did not recall the specifics of the case.

Council's violation occurred Sept. 15, 2001, when he was 20. He was charged Oct. 1 of that year and pleaded guilty 28 days later.

His license was not suspended, and the Department of Motor Vehicles said Council had no other blemishes on his driving record in the past 10 years.

Council, who is now 27, was hired as a sheriff's deputy 18 months ago, joining the department where his father is also a deputy. On Sunday, he was 4 1/2 hours into a scheduled 12 1/2-hour shift when his cruiser crossed the center line on Stevens Canyon Boulevard in Cupertino at 10:25 a.m., striking and killing competitive bicyclists Kristy Gough, 30, of San Leandro and Matt Peterson, 29, of San Francisco.

A third cyclist, 20-year-old Christopher Knapp of Germany, was released Tuesday from Stanford University Medical Center.

Two men who came upon the accident scene a short time after the crash said Council had said he fell asleep at the wheel.

Council is on paid leave from the sheriff's department while the California Highway Patrol investigates the crash. Neither he nor his attorney, Mary Sansen of Pleasant Hill, returned calls seeking comment Tuesday. The CHP said Council has not yet agreed to be interviewed by its officers.

Editors thought: Would'nt anyone else be in custody first? Why the special treatment in the first cases and this case?

Whole story at: SfGate

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008