A California district attorney has found herself on the wrong side of a California driving under the influence case. Proving no one is immune from a California DUI, Gloria Mas, an El Dorado County deputy district attorney, was arrested in July on suspicion of drunken driving, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Mas was arrested in the early afternoon of July 25 at the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office after witnesses said she drove into the parking lot there, appearing to be intoxicated. According to the California Highway Patrol’s arrest report, the attorney told a CHP officer that she consumed two vodka tonics between noon and 1 p.m. while at home for lunch and then drove to the office.
According to the arrest report, a CHP officer attached to the District Attorney’s Office saw Mas drive into the district attorney’s lot. The officer and other witnesses, whose names were edited out of the report, told an investigating CHP sergeant that Mas showed signs and symptoms of intoxication.
The arresting officer, Sgt. T. Brown, subsequently performed field sobriety tests and a breath test in District Attorney Vern Pierson’s office.
Mas failed to perform the tests properly, and the field breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of about 0.12 percent, according to the report. Results of a test conducted at the El Dorado County jail, where Mas was booked, were blacked out of the report.
The county DA referred the case to state Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office because of the potential for conflicts resulting from prosecuting one of their own.
“We have taken that case,” confirmed Nick Pacilio, a spokesman in the attorney general’s office. A decision on whether or how to prosecute has not been made, and the case is under review.
If you or someone you love has been arrested for drunk driving, be sure to consult with an experienced California DUI Defense attorney as soon as possible.
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