Arraignment for Clinton’s kin in DUI case is delayed a month
The arraignment for Roger Clinton, the halfbrother of former President Clinton, on charges that he was driving under the influence of alcohol has been postponed until Oct. 6.
A judge also ordered Roger Clinton to attend one Alcoholics Anonymous meeting per week or alternatively show proof of enrollment in an alcohol education program.
“He regrets the incident and he’d like to put it behind him,” his attorney, Walter F. Wiggins Jr., said Friday. “We have every confidence that we’ll reach an acceptable disposition with the city prosecutor. We’re having productive, ongoing conversations.”
City prosecutors in Redondo Beach charged Roger Cassidy Clinton with one count each of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
The brother-in-law of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was not required to attend the arraignment.
The charges stem from a June 5 incident, when a motorist told police about 7:20 p.m. that another driver was heading south on Pacific Coast Highway and possibly drunk, police said in a statement.
“The report was he was driving erratically, violating multiple” traffic laws, Redondo Beach Police Lt. Joe Hoffman said.
Officers stopped the vehicle at Torrance Boulevard and South Prospect Avenue. Roger Clinton and three other passengers were inside, authorities said.
Clinton failed a series of field sobriety exams, which typically involve walking a straight line or standing on one leg, according to police.
In preliminary alcoholcontent tests at the scene, Clinton’s breath showed readings of 0.230 and 0.237, according to a police report obtained by the Daily Breeze.
At the police station, he refused an additional breath and blood chemical test to detect his blood alcohol content. That decision triggered a one-year suspension of his driver’s license by the Department of Motor Vehicles under a law passed in 1990 to deter drunk driving.
“He was explained the law and chose not to provide chemical testing,” Hoffman said.
In 2001, Clinton was arrested in Hermosa Beach on suspicion of drunk driving and ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving. He was pardoned for a 1985 cocaine distribution offense by President Clinton before he left office.