KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Following Independence Day, Santa Clarita saw a decrease in reported drug- and alcohol-related arrests while also seeing an increase in the number of arrests reported.
Between Friday, July 5 and Sunday, July 7, 43 arrests and citations were reported by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and the California Highway Patrol Newhall office, according to arrest logs.
Of these 43 incidents, 18 were related to drugs and alcohol, with six reported incidents of driving under the influence, six for possession of a controlled substance, three for being under the influence, and three for possessing drug paraphernalia, according to officials.
While these numbers represent a roughly 16 percent increase in total arrests and citations reported, they also show a roughly 18 percent decrease in reported drug- and alcohol-related crimes.
Nearly 40 percent of the arrests and citations reported were for individuals who have home addresses outside of the Santa Clarita Valley, according to weekend arrest logs.
Before the weekend began, Captain Robert Lewis with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station announced on Facebook that deputies had not made any DUI arrests during Independence Day.
However, officers with the California Highway Patrol Newhall office reportedly made three arrests on Independence Day, according to arrest logs.
One such individual, a man from New Jersey, was arrested on Thursday on felony DUI charges after allegedly injuring another individual in a crash on the 14 Freeway, according to CHP officials.
At around 10 p.m. on the Fourth of July, first responders received reports of a traffic collision on the southbound 14 Freeway north of the 5 Freeway, said Officer Eric Priessman, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol Newhall office.
“A gray Honda hit a black Lexus,” Priessman said.
When CHP officers arrived on scene, they conducted a field sobriety check and found that Benjamin Steele, 24, of Summit, New Jersey was allegedly over the legal limit of alcohol, according to officials.
One of the people in the vehicle he allegedly hit had “complaints of pain,” Priessman said. As a result, Steele was charged with felony DUI.
Steele was arrested and transported to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station jail with bail set at $20,000, according to arrest records.
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Big deal they all get out because California’s voted to keep them out of jail, illegal drugs are OK to have because its not violent, my neighbor has been arrested 10 times in 2 years for drugs and he is on his couch in a few hours after each arrest, all they get is a written record they did a bad thing..
Not impressed with the California system that people voted in. Live in my house for one day and you would change your mind quick. he has Drugs and alcohol in and out of his house, people showing up from midnight to midnight, and driving while intoxicated on one of the other or both, all hours of the day, I’m leaving for work at 6am and deals are being made out of a mail box, so the sheriffs little holiday arrests is a joke..
Don’t you mean between July 5-7?
I agree BobbyG. We had a drunk driver plow through our back fence. He blew a .018 and they arrested him. We saw him two days later walking around Saugus drinking out of a brown bag. My wife and I were just amazed.