originally published at: www.pressdemocrat.com
Petaluma checkpoints net 3 DUI suspects
By MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 9:59 a.m.
Petaluma police arrested and cited 10 drivers during two DUI and driver’s license checkpoints Friday night. Three of the arrests were for drunk driving.
The first checkpoint was staged on Old Redwood Highway near the North McDowell Extension between 6 and 9 p.m., and the second was held from 11 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Petaluma Boulevard North near Gossage Avenue.
The stops are part of a series of at least 10 checkpoints, held mostly on weekends in Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Cotati, since March.
Of the 1,534 vehicles that passed through the two checkpoints, 1,494 were screened by officers for signs of DUI and driver’s license violations. Sixty-nine drivers were directed to nearby parking areas for further evaluation.
In addition to the three arrested for DUI, one driver was arrested for driving on a suspended license and three others were arrested for driving without having been issued a license. One person was cited for having an expired driver’s license and another person was arrested for an outstanding stolen vehicle warrant. One person was arrested for possession of marijuana in his car.
In the most serious DUI arrest, police reported that Shawn Kristoffer Cahoon, 34, of Rohnert Park entered the first checkpoint at about 6:28 p.m. with a blood alcohol level almost three times the legal limit.
Officers screening drivers detected the odor of alcohol and Cahoon displayed signs of intoxication, police said.
He was on probation for a previous DUI in February 2008. The terms of his probation require that he not drive a vehicle with alcohol in his blood and that he not refuse to take a blood alcohol test. Cahoon refused to take a chemical test and was booked into Sonoma County Jail for violating probation, officials said. His bail was set at $10,000.
A total of seven vehicles were towed and four were impounded for 30 days because the drivers either did not have a driver’s license or were driving on a suspended license.
The 30-day impound rule often affects illegal immigrants because California law does not allow them to obtain a state driver’s license.
As in previous checkpoints, about a half-dozen activists stationed themselves ahead of the police stop point. They warned drivers by holding signs that read, “Reten, Reten,” which is the Spanish word for checkpoint.
The program, funded through a state grant, involves 13 law enforcement agencies in Sonoma County and is coordinated by the Petaluma Police Department.
Tags: Avoid the 13, checkpoints, PPD