NOVATO – Tis the season for DUI traffic checkpoints. While it’s merely an inconvenience for most drivers, police sometimes catch impaired drivers this way—but last week a murder suspect was nabbed.
Novato officers arrested Ebony Charo Rochelle Barksdale, 36, of Antioch, who is suspected of attempted murder, inflicting injury on a spouse, assault with a deadly weapon, and shooting at an inhabited dwelling or vehicle.
DUI checkpoints like the one Barksdale encountered are credited with reducing accidents, deaths and injuries. Research indicates that few drivers who get stopped are intoxicated; though publicizing checkpoints is widely believed to deter individuals from driving while intoxicated.
Checkpoints also help police locate suspects with outstanding arrest warrants.
Novato police said Barksdale was driving with a suspended license when she drove up to a checkpoint last Friday night at South Novato Boulevard and Sunset Parkway. She was taken into custody after a background check revealed her outstanding arrest warrants.
She was booked at Marin County Jail on Dec. 16, where she’s being held without bail. The four felonies she’s charged with occurred in another county.
