Hollister
– The district attorney filed a misdemeanor charge of resisting
a peace officer against a San Juan Bautista city councilman
Tuesday, more than a month after deputies arrested him.
Hollister – The district attorney filed a misdemeanor charge of resisting a peace officer against a San Juan Bautista city councilman Tuesday, more than a month after deputies arrested him.
George Dias, 45, who is in his first term as a city councilman, will be arraigned Tuesday on one misdemeanor charge of resisting a peace officer causing serious injury, according to court documents. The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office arrested Dias on three felony and two misdemeanor charges April 14 after an altercation with a deputy on Mission Vineyard Road.
Dias did not return the Free Lance’s phone calls Tuesday. The councilman told the Free Lance in April that he did not want to resolve the matter in the press, but rather in court.
District Attorney Candice Hooper would not elaborate as to why she did not file four of the sheriff’s recommended charges.
“I believe after reviewing the report and witness statements this is appropriate,” Hooper said.
An original arrest report from the sheriff’s office recommended three felony charges, including battery with serious bodily injury, battery on a peace officer resulting in injury and obstructing an executive officer.
Sheriff Curtis Hill said he was happy to see Hooper had filed a charge.
“That’s her call, and now it’s up to the DA to take it to the courts,” Hill said.
The San Juan Bautista Fire Department and sheriff’s deputies had responded to a trailer fire on property owned by Dias in the 600 block of Mission Vineyard on April 14.
Lt. Roy Iler previously told the Free Lance that Dias refused to follow the directions of deputy Jason Leist, who was attempting to clear a road to allow access to the trailer for firefighting equipment.
Dias refused to move, and Leist suffered cuts to his head when he, the other deputy and the councilman fell into nearby shrubs, Iler said.
The April incident marked the second time the sheriff’s office has arrested Dias in the last three years.
In May of 2004, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and drunken driving. Deputies said Dias had a blood-alcohol level of 0.22, nearly three times California’s legal limit of 0.08.
After taking office in January of 2005, Dias was convicted of misdemeanor drunken driving and sentenced to 15 days in jail, three years of probation and fined $1,710, according to San Benito County Superior Court documents.
If convicted of misdemeanor resisting a peace officer causing serious injury, Dias could face up to one year in the county jail.
It will be up to a judge to determine whether Dias violated the terms of his drunken driving probation.
Dias will be arraigned in the San Benito County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
