New details on the drunk driving arrest of San Francisco 49er
quarterback and Gilroy native Jeff Garcia emerged from the Santa
Claa County District Attorney
’s office.
New details on the drunk driving arrest of San Francisco 49er quarterback and Gilroy native Jeff Garcia emerged from the Santa Claa County District Attorney’s office.
Police reports reveal that Garcia, whose blood alcohol level registered at nearly three times the legal limit, was cooperative with his arresting officers.
However, police had to call for back-up during the arrest to quell a small but surly crowd that gathered in downtown San Jose as officers investigated the three-time Pro Bowler. The crowd, which numbered 15 to 20 people, at one point chanted, “Let Garcia go!”
One of the officers also got into a shouting match with friends of Garcia’s. Police say the friends asked them to let Garcia go and they “became loud and emotional,” before Garcia himself told his friends to calm down.
Prosecutors are charging Garcia with driving under the influence of alcohol and will seek enhanced penalties for driving with a blood alcohol level in excess of .20 percent. One count charges Garcia with driving while intoxicated, the other is a more specific charge alleging he drove with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit of .08 percent.
Breathalyzer tests Garcia submitted to during his early morning Jan. 14 arrest in downtown San Jose revealed his blood alcohol level to be .237 percent and a subsequent breath test registered .219 percent.
With a DUI case pending, questions about Garcia’s legal fate continue to be raised.
Deputy District Attorney Lisa Rogers, who has been assigned the Garcia case, said a blood alcohol level above .20 does not trigger additional penalties. However, she said judges typically use the information to issue the maximum allowable punishment.
“It usually involves more jail time or more work time,” Rogers said. “For instance, a judge could sentence someone to six months in a treatment program rather than three months.”
Garcia faces up to six months in jail, fines up to $1,500, suspension or revocation of his driver’s license and probation with a mandatory DUI treatment program. The NFL could fine Garcia $20,000 and send him to mandatory counseling.
Garcia could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer Steven Manchester, of San Jose-based Manchester, Williams and Seibert, issued this brief statement: “Jeff Garcia takes this matter extremely seriously. We will conduct an investigation, after which appropriate decisions will be made.”
It is unknown how Garcia will plead at his March 1 arraignment.
