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Sen. Ben Hueso arrested on DUI charges

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Sen. Ben Hueso was arrested in downtown Sacramento early Friday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

Hueso was released shortly before noon from the Sacramento County Jail. He is facing two misdemeanor DUI-related charges, said Sgt. Lisa Bowman of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

The San Diego Democrat was arrested by the California Highway Patrol at 2:39 a.m. after an officer spotted him driving the wrong way on a one-way street, said CHP Officer Julie Powell. The officer said Hueso was alone in the vehicle, a state-owned Ford Fusion, and did not resist arrest.

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The CHP officer would not release Hueso’s blood-alcohol content, saying only that Hueso submitted to a “chemical test,” after his arrest.

He was booked into the jail at 3:54 a.m., Bowman said.

Outside the jail upon his release, he would not comment on what he was doing in the hours before his DUI arrest near midtown Sacramento. He told reporters “the process isn’t over” and that he will he will “pursue my innocence.”

Hueso was among the guests at a dinner hosted Thursday night by the Latino Legislative Caucus at Il Fornaio in downtown Sacramento, held to recognize members who are being termed out of office or leaving for other offices. The dinner ended about 9 p.m., said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the caucus.

Hueso’s office released the following statement from the senator on Friday:

“I am truly and profoundly sorry for the unacceptably poor personal judgment which I demonstrated last night. As someone who cares deeply about the public safety, I sincerely apologize to my family, my constituents and my colleagues in the Senate for breaching the trust they’ve all placed in me. I accept complete personal responsibility for my actions and any punishments that ultimately come my way as a result of this incident. I will also engage in immediate, corrective actions to ensure this kind of personal conduct is never repeated.”

Hours before Hueso was arrested, he and four other lawmakers were photographed reveling on a Capitol balcony, drinks in hand, according to an article by the Sacramento Bee.

In a tweet later deleted from her Twitter account, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, wrote “Yes… Loving my Latino Caucus boys…” She attached a photograph of Hueso with Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, Assemblyman Roger Hernández, D-West Covina and state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens and Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, the Bee reported.

Hueso appears in the middle of the photograph, his shirt partially untucked. He is holding a glass in his right hand, with his left arm around Lara.

Gonzalez declined to comment on the tweet or Hueso’s arrest.

Hueso served on the San Diego City Council for four years and was council president from 2008-10. He was elected to the Assembly in 2010 and then to the Senate in a 2013 special election, filling the seat held by Juan Vargas, who had been elected to Congress.

In the state Senate, Hueso represents Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, Coronado, a portion of the City of San Diego, Imperial County and the southern part of Riverside.

He chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and the Select Committee on California’s Energy Independence.

Asked about Hueso’s arrest, Senate Pro Tem Darell Steinberg “expressed his is extreme disappointment, called it a lapse of personal judgment, and was only glad that no one was hurt,” Steinberg’s spokesman said.

The spokesman declined to say what authority Steinberg has to reprimand Hueso.

His arrest was the latest legal problem involving state senators.

Three other Democrats were suspended with pay earlier this year for a variety of legal troubles, including one convicted of perjury for lying about his residence and two others ensnared in federal corruption investigations.

Hueso’s seat was also vacant when the Senate reconvened Friday, a week before the legislative deadline.

The end of the legislative session, when lawmakers pass hundreds of bills, is typically a festive time after hours, with parties and fundraisers at bars and restaurants around the state capital.

In 2011, then-Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad, was arrested in Sacramento on DUI charges. He later pleaded no contest to the charges.

Garrick, who served in the Assembly from 2006 to 2012, was sentenced to 48 hours of community service; ordered to pay fines and assessments amounting to $2,416; ordered to attend a DMV alcohol program and had his license suspended for four months.

At the time, the CHP said Garrick’s blood-alcohol content was nearly 0.15, almost double the legal limit to drive.

Until three years ago, members of the Legislature could use state-purchased cars to traverse California and make unlimited gas expenses. A citizens committee stripped the lawmakers of those benefits in 2011.

Lawmakers who live outside of Sacramento, however, still have access to a collection of state vehicles for travel in the Capital area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

chris.nichols@utsandiego.com | (916) 445-2934 | Twitter@christhejourno

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