Wednesday 3 August 2022 05:27 PM Paul Pelosi pleads NOT guilty to DUI charges two months after his arrest trends now
Paul Pelosi, 82, pleaded not guilty to two counts of driving under the influence - two months after his arrest in Yountville, California
Paul Pelosi has pleaded not guilty to two counts of driving under the influence, two months after his arrest in Napa County, California.
Pelosi, who has a home in nearby St. Helena, did not appear for the arraignment on Wednesday and was instead represented by his lawyer Amanda Bevin during the 10-minute hearing in front of Judge Monique Langhorne.
Twenty-year veteran Langhorne was a last-minute addition to the case, swapped in after being booted from a different trial at the request of the public defender.
The brief hearing concluded with a settlement conference being scheduled for August 23.
Pelosi could face up to one year of prison or license suspension for each count, according to the complaint.
Bevin declined to comment outside court, but District Attorney Allison Haley spoke briefly to deny reports that she is in cahoots with Justice Langhorne.
She said she had made a $100 donation to the judge's election campaign in 2018 and noted that under California law, the defense can have her removed from the case if they think she cannot be impartial.
She said: 'I gave Judge Langhorne $100 in 2018. I believe she can be fair and impartial in this case.'
At the time of the crash on May 28, Pelosi was attempting to cross State Road 29 - a busy highway connecting Napa and Calistoga - when he slammed into a 2014 Jeep driven by Jesus Lopez at 10:22pm. He had pulled out of Walnut Lane, five miles south of his home with Nancy
DailyMail.com photos show the damage caused by the crash was still visible 48 hours after the accident, including a parking sign that had been knocked down and injury to the fence surrounding a vineyard
Paul and wife Nancy Pelosi own a vineyard in Napa County located five miles from the crash site. The Speaker of the House was traveling for work in Rhode Island at the time
DA Haley also revealed her staff had been subjected to death threats over the case, saying: 'This has been disruptive in the office. I've been thousands of phone calls and emails. Staff have been told they're going to hang from trees and these are some of the most dedicated people in Napa County.'
Pelosi, 82, was arrested on May 28 after he blew a stop sign in his 2021 Porsche and slammed into a Jeep shortly after 10pm. He later told cops he had been attending a dinner party in Yountville.
A complaint filed ahead of the hearing revealed Pelosi had attempted to hand over a police courtesy card when asked for identification by cops.
He also failed a field sobriety test and had a BAC of 0.08 per cent. He was also found to have traces of drugs in his system.
The report stated that Pelosi was slurring his words and reeked of alcohol when he was picked up by cops.
Officers said he was sitting in the front seat of the car, failed a field sobriety test and his eyes appeared 'red and watery.'
It continued: 'He was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and he had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.'
Pelosi was carted off to the Napa County Jail where he was booked at 12:32am and posed for a mugshot – that shows him shamefaced in a brown suit – shortly before he was released at 4:30am.
Pelosi was charged with one count of driving under the influence causing injury and one count of driving with a BAC level of 0.08% causing injury, according to the criminal complaint
The report goes on to describe the incident, revealing he had attempted to hand over a police courtesy card when asked for identification by cops
Pelosi could face up to a year of prison or license suspension for each count, according to the complaint
At the time of the crash, his wife Nancy Pelosi was on official business in Rhode Island at the time and swiftly distanced herself from the incident.
On Wednesday, the House Speaker departed Taiwan and was expected to travel to South Korea ahead of her husband's arraignment.
Napa County DA Allison Haley spent weeks mulling whether to charge Pelosi – eventually deciding to hit him with one count of DUI causing injury and another of driving with .08 per cent blood alcohol level or higher causing injury on June 23.
The 82-year-old had been at a dinner with friends prior to the crash and was driving back to his palatial vineyard
