Paul Pelosi pleads not guilty to DUI charges
By Kacey Cherry and Devan Cole, CNN
Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and driving with .08% blood alcohol level or higher causing injury.
His lawyer, Amanda Bevins, appeared on his behalf at an arraignment in Napa County Superior Court in California and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, which were brought after Pelosi was arrested on May 28 after having been involved in a nighttime collision.
Pelosi, who did not appear in court on Wednesday, will remain free on his own recognizance and is due back in court on August 23.
The 82-year-old had been attempting to cross SR-29 in late May when his 2021 Porsche was hit by a 2014 Jeep traveling northbound on the road, according to a collision report from the California Highway Patrol. The vehicles “sustained major collision damage,” according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint noted that Pelosi was operating his vehicle “while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and a drug and under their combined influence.” Authorities said in the complaint that when asked for ID at the scene, Pelosi handed the officers both his license and an “11-99 Foundation” card. The foundation is the California Highway Patrol charity, which “provides emergency assistance to California Highway Patrol employees and scholarships to their children,” according to its website.
The punishment for the misdemeanor charges “includes up to five years of probation, a minimum of five days in jail, installation of an ignition interlock device, fines and fees, completion of a court ordered drinking driver class and other terms, according to a release from the Napa County District Attorney’s Office.
Pelosi completed sobriety tests at the time of the incident “showing signs of impairment,” according to a criminal complaint. The criminal complaint noted that California Highway Patrol determined Pelosi “was the proximate cause of the collision.”
A native of San Francisco, he has been married to Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, since 1963. The two have five children.
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