Scores of OC Arrests in Anti-DUI Effort

Five people were arrested this week in a court sting, part of Orange County's anti-DUI holiday campaign. And 158 DUI arrests were made Dec. 14-16 as part of the same "Avoid the 38" DUI Task Force effort.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the targets in the sting operation at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach were defendants who were in court because of suspended licenses from previous DUI offenses. Plainclothes officers followed them out to the parking lot after their court hearings. Defendants who got behind the wheel and drove off were stopped by uniformed task force members and arrested and their vehicles impounded for 30 days.

All five defendants were cited and released at the scene.

The 158 arrests last weekend were made by officers from the 38 agencies participating in the campaign to curb impaired driving during the holiday season. The figure is provisional, the department said; some agencies have yet to report their numbers.

Throughout the campaign, the Sheriff’s Department and Laguna Beach, Irvine, Tustin and La Palma police departments will conduct DUI saturation patrols. Other agencies have announced these schedules:

• Los Alamitos, Orange and UC Irvine police: Dec. 21, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Placentia, Buena Park and La Habra: Dec. 22, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Anaheim and the Cal State Fullerton police: Dec. 22, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Fullerton police: Dec. 24, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Placentia police: Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.

Scheduled DUI/driver's license checkpoints:

• Westminster: Dec. 20, 7 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Anaheim: Dec. 29, 7 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Buena Park, Placentia: Dec. 29, 7 p.m.-3 a.m.

The Sheriff’s Department and Buena Park police will conduct DUI warrant service operations during the campaign but will not announce the dates.

Grant funding for the Orange County effort comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.