Calif. Assemblyman Martin Garrick (R) pleads no contest to drunken driving charges

[Newsjock]

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/07/martin-garrick-pleads-no-contest-drunken-driving.html

Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Solana Beach, will lose his driver's license for four months and perform 48 hours of community service after pleading no contest today to drunken driving charges.

Three California Highway Patrol officers arrested Garrick on June 15 after they saw him speed past a stop sign and red traffic lights near the Capitol. Garrick's plea came more than two weeks before his scheduled Aug. 15 court hearing.

"I have accepted responsibility for my actions and apologized to family, friends and constituents," Garrick said in a statement late Friday. "I will now take the necessary steps to resolve this incident and immediately begin the process of complying with the judgment."

A blood test revealed Garrick had a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent on the night he was arrested. Officers never booked the former Assembly GOP leader into jail because they said in an arrest report that he was suffering from severe vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pains. Garrick's attorney, Don Heller, said Garrick had contracted a stomach flu earlier in the day. An Assembly sergeant-at-arms drove Garrick home.