Sacramento Sheriff Does Not Need to Retire

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office won’t refile DUI charges against a sheriff’s sergeant whose first trial ended with a hung jury.

Christopher Dayton Guerrero was pulled over for DUI on Oct. 4, 2007 in Roseville but was not arrested or cited even though he reportedly had a BAC of .16 percent - twice the legal limit.

The District Attorney’s Office filed DUI charges against him after a local TV station reported the arrest, but jurors couldn’t agree on his guilt, so the judge declared a mistrial. Prosecutors declined to refile the case because they believed a second trial might have the same outcome.

Hung juries are often a favorable outcome for the defense in California DUI cases for just this reason. A mistrial may inspire the prosecutor in a California DUI case to offer a favorable plea bargain or drop the charges altogether.