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OCEANSIDE: Cop pleads not guilty to drunken driving, crash
By TERI FIGUEROA | ∞
OCEANSIDE ---- A veteran Oceanside police officer has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving while under the influence causing injury, a spokesman with the county prosecutors office said Wednesday.
Officer Dwight Carwell, 47, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Sept. 9, said San Diego County District Attorney spokesman Steve Walker.
Carwell faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
The crash occurred around 2 a.m. on June 7, according to the California Highway Patrol. Carwell was driving northbound on Interstate 5 with a 40-year-old passenger when he lost control of his 2006 Nissan Titan and ran off the road and flipped, authorities said.
Both Carwell and his passenger were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla complaining of pain.
The officer was reassigned to a desk after the incident, but he recently returned to patrol, Oceanside police Sgt. Kelan Poorman said Wednesday.
Carwell has a restricted driver's license but is allowed to drive to, from and during work, Poorman said.
A former San Diego County Sheriff's Department corrections deputy and one-time corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, Carwell has been with the police department 15 years.
A status hearing in his case is set for Oct. 23 in San Diego.
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Wow wrote on Sep 25, 2008 11:55 AM:Sure hope he gets what any one else in the civilian life gets for doing what he did. Being under the influence and injury to a passenger. A year in jail? Seems a bit light to me.
Wow wrote on Sep 25, 2008 5:52 PM:You obviously have no clue about what goes on in courts. DUI with injury might get a very short sentence. First offense, even with injury is going to be mostly probation. A lawyer would get suspended for a DUI with injury, wonder if cops are held to a similar standard?
Response to WOw wrote on Sep 25, 2008 8:34 PM:Yeah right! Bill Clinton lies unedr oath and still keeps his layer license! many lawyers could never evn become a cop! Yet they are allowed to take the bar! Please!
Umm wrote on Sep 25, 2008 9:43 PM:I thought that a DUI was a felony, and what kind of example is the court setting by only given a restricted license and possible one year, if his passenger was killed would that mean he would only get probation, he drives drunk and could have possible killed himself and passanger or some innocent driver with their kids in the car, and they still let him drive on OUR city streets, what's gonna happen next time when he does this and accidently kills the judge while he or she is driving home to their family?
Interesting.... wrote on Sep 27, 2008 9:43 AM:If this incident would have occurred in Oceanside he would of been charged with a felony. I know I was. This is an outrage. There must be 2 sets of laws on the books, one for law enforcement and one for the rest of us. Since his friend was transported to the hospital this should have been charged as a felony in any case.
He will get a minimum of 90 days though and a 1 year suspension of his driver's license.
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