US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband pleaded guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanour driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation.
The charges related to Paul Pelosi’s crash in California’s wine country in May.
Pelosi was arrested following a May 28 crash in Napa County, north of San Francisco, after a DUI test showed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.082 per cent, just over the legal limit.
Police officers responding to the crash after 10pm near the wine country town of Yountville said they found Pelosi in the driver’s seat of a 2021 Porsche Carrera and the other driver standing outside a sport utility vehicle, according to the complaint.
California Highway Patrol officers reported that Pelosi was “unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred, and he had a strong odour of an alcoholic beverage”.
He has already served two days in jail and received conduct credit for two other days, Napa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Solga said.
Pelosi will work eight hours in the court’s work programme in lieu of the remaining day, Mr Solga said. Pelosi did not attend the sentencing.
State law allows for DUI misdemeanour defendants to appear through their lawyer unless ordered otherwise by the court.
As part of his probation, Pelosi will also be required to attend a three-month drinking driver class, and install an ignition interlock device, where the driver has to provide a breath sample before the engine will start. He will also have to pay nearly $7,000 in fines, the judge said.
Pelosi was released on $5,000 bail after his arrest. His wife was in Rhode Island to deliver the commencement address at Brown University at the time. Her office has declined to comment.
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