Former Turlock mayor and recent mayoral candidate Brad Bates was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Bates was stopped for a traffic violation shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Main Street and Lander Avenue. A police officer stopped at the intersection witnessed Bates’ vehicle turn into the incoming traffic lanes while making a left turn and made an enforcement stop, according to the Turlock Police Department.
The officer stated in the report that Bates had an odor of alcohol and he admitted he had consumed a couple of alcoholic beverages earlier in the evening.
A field sobriety test was administered and Bates requested a blood draw be given. He was taken to a Modesto hospital for the blood draw, after which he was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.
This was not the first time Bates has been arrested on allegations of driving under the influence. In December 2017, shortly after Bates had announced his intentions to run for mayor, he told the Journal he been arrested in Southern California in 2009 and plead guilty to a charge of reckless driving with alcohol involved. This charge, commonly called “wet reckless,” refers to a reduced plea arrangement made by a driver arrested for driving while intoxicated.
In the previous statement given to the Journal Bates said of his arrest: “My blood alcohol level was .08. The legal limit in California to operate a vehicle is .08. I was arrested and spent the worst night of my life in a Southern California county jail…I surrendered my driver’s license for six months and learned I can get to the DoubleTree office complex in Modesto where my office was, quite easily using the #10 Express bus from Turlock. My servicing assistant drove me to most appointments. I attended a mandatory weekly class for 10 weeks and ultimately paid about $10,000 in legal costs, fines and increased insurance in the first year,” said Bates.
“I am embarrassed by this event, not the least of which was having the entire ordeal played out in front of my daughter,” Bates said of his 2009 arrest.
Bates said in December 2017 that he knew his 2009 arrest would eventually be brought out during his mayoral campaign and he’d like to use the experience as a cautionary tale to others who may think they can have a couple of drinks with dinner and still be able to legally operate a vehicle.
“When you hear the radio or TV ads, or the highway signs that say ‘Buzzed driving is drunk driving,’ they mean exactly what they say. If you feel a little ‘buzzed,’ you are likely to be over the legal .08 limit…I would tell students that in my 40 plus year career in the insurance industry, I have seen many, many situations where an individual has been denied employment, or terminated from employment, for non-work-related DUI violations. For many employers and other career opportunities, a DUI or the reduced ‘wet reckless’ conviction can alter the course of your life,” he said in 2017.
Bates did not return a message for comment about the recent arrest.
