Assemblyman faces license suspension, fines after DUI plea

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State Assemblyman Martin Garrick (R-Carlsbad) pleaded no contest Friday to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and agreed to a four-month suspension of his license as well as fines and community service.

Garrick was arrested June 15 in Sacramento by California Highway Patrol officers on bicycle who followed him into the Capitol garage after spotting him driving erratically on a nearby street.

As part of his plea, Garrick will perform 48 hours of community service, and he paid $2,416 in fines and assessments. The judgment entered in Sacramento County Superior Court also requires him to attend a three-month, 30-hour program of alcohol education and counseling required by the state.

‘I have accepted responsibility for my actions and apologized to family, friends and constituents,’ Garrick said in a statement. ‘I will now take the necessary steps to resolve this incident and immediately begin the process of complying with the judgment.’

Garrick was driving his state car, a 2007 Toyota Camry, when he was stopped late in the evening by officers who said he showed signs of intoxication while taking a field sobriety test, according to the arrest report.

The lawmaker told the officers he had three glasses of wine during a dinner with a friend and was feeling sick. He vomited during an attempt to administer a breath test at the Sacramento jail, so officers ended up giving him a blood test, which showed his blood-alcohol level above the legal limit.

-- Patrick McGreevy