Wife of ex-state official is arrested

Former Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer is alleged spousal-abuse victim.

The wife of a former California attorney general and state treasurer was free on bail after being arrested in a domestic dispute, authorities said Friday.

Nadia Lockyer, 46, was released on $5,000 bail Thursday night after her arrest on suspicion of spousal abuse.

Nadia and Bill Lockyer, 76, were married in 2003 — a union that made headlines over reports of her substance abuse and other concerns.

In 2012, she reported being roughed up in a motel room by a former boyfriend she met in 2010 in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. She too is a former public official, having served as an Alameda County supervisor.

Nadia Lockyer was arrested Thursday at the vacation home where the couple were staying with their three children — a teenage boy and toddler twins — in the Sierra foothills town of Twain Harte, southeast of Sacramento.

Deputies received a call before 11 a.m. that an intoxicated woman was yelling and throwing things, Tuolumne County Sheriff's Sgt. Andrea Benson said.

Deputies reported that Nadia Lockyer had a bloodalcohol level of 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit.

She was jailed on suspicion of misdemeanor spousal abuse. Bill Lockyer had a minor injury, Benson said.

The district attorney said no formal charges had been filed.

Nadia Lockyer did not return requests seeking comment.

Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, left office in 2015. Before serving eight years as attorney general and eight years as treasurer, he had spent 25 years in the state Legislature, rising to lead the state Senate.

“This is obviously a difficult time for the family, including the children, and as they work through it they need privacy,” said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for Bill Lockyer. “Bill’s focused on his kids’ well-being and his wife’s health.”