Police Step Up Enforcement of DUIs as Holiday Nears

Petaluma Police are warning residents to drink responsibly over the Thanksgiving holiday, following two DUI-related incidents that occurred Monday night.

On Monday 6:27pm, officers responded to the old Mervyn's building at South McDowell Blvd to find a 22-year-old Petaluma man extremely intoxicated, according to Sgt. Ken Savano.  The man had no driver's license and a blood alcohol level of nearly double the legal amount.

He was booked at Sonoma County jail with bail set at $5,000, according to Savano. Damage to the building was minor. 

At 2:35am Tuesday morning, Petaluma police responded to a call in which four people in a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse ran their car off the road at D Street and Pinnacle Drive.

The driver, a 23-year-old Point Reyes resident with no license, had a blood alcohol level that registered .091 percent. One passenger sustained injuries, but refused treatment, Savano said.  The driver was booked at county jail with bail set at $26,000.

And there are still two days to go before Thanksgiving.

The Petaluma Police Department will be deploying additional DUI officers over the weekend to keep drunk drivers off the road.  In recent days, police have targeted known DUI offenders in the community, including monitoring people on probation at their houses and favorite watering holes. 

That has resulted in numerous arrests, including a man who was on probation for a DUI seen driving away from Beyond the Glory Sports Bar. Another man leapt out the window when  he saw officers approaching his home. The 42-year-old Petaluma resident, later arrested, admitted that he was scared because he had alcohol in his home, in violation of probation.