Crime & Safety
13 Drivers with Suspended Licenses Tagged in Courthouse Sting, Lose Cars
La Mesa police checked drivers pulling into the El Cajon courthouse, where DUI meetings are held.
Thirteen drivers are carless now after seeing their vehicles impounded Thursday in a La Mesa Police Department sting operation at the El Cajon courthouse.
“Our main focus was to identify those drivers who continue to drive even after having their license suspended as the result of a prior DUI arrest,” said police Sgt. Peter Andersson in a news release. “The detail was operational for a little more than three hours.”
Andersson said 171 subjects were contacted and 13 of them were found to be driving on a suspended or revoked license.
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“All of them were issued a citation and their cars were impounded and then placed on a hold due to the driver having a suspended license,” Andersson said.
He said the operation is a reminder that the La Mesa Police Department “will not tolerate drunk drivers or those persons who continue to drive after having their license suspended.”
Andersson explained the checkpoint earlier Thursday, saying: “We talk to them about whether they’re on probation or not for DUI, and if so we check their license status and if it’s suspended we impound their car.”
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He said some people convicted of a DUI drive to court-ordered appearances and meetings although their license has been suspended.
“They’re supposed to go to court-ordered meetings as part of their probationary requirements,” he said. “Obviously they’re not supposed to drive anywhere. They will still drive sometimes to and from the meeting at the courthouse in El Cajon.”
The sting is one of many operations targeting drunken drivers funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Andersson said.
“At least four times a year we do the court sting operation,” Andersson said.
Although the courthouse is in El Cajon, the La Mesa Police Department will be conducting the operation because that location has jurisdiction over all of East County.
“It’s where they hold their MADD court-ordered DUI probation meetings,” Andersson said.
Members of the San Diego County Probation Department assisted in the operation.
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