VENTURA COUNTY — Pursuant to what Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sr. Deputy Dan Ambarian described to the media as “a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes,” for a six hour period from 9:00 pm. to 3:00 a.m. on September 9th, the Thousand Oaks Police Department Traffic Bureau conducted a DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint at two individual locations.
The streets involved were determined to be high-traffic areas with the greatest likelihood of “achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence,” with their location and the time of the checkpoint operations well publicized in the days prior.
The publicity effort may well have achieved the desired effect upon the majority of drivers passing through the area during the hours of checkpoint operations, as fully 312 vehicles were screened with ten citations issued for license and DMV violations, with only three individuals arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Two of those folks were Camarillo residents Lee Schlakat, 53, and Kevin Grecian, 45. The third suspect taken into custody that evening was Thousand Oaks resident, 23-year-old Diana Chavez.
According to Ambarian, while no drivers were determined to be under the influence of drugs, a recent study of drivers indicated more are driving around on the streets of our communities and on state highways impaired and under the influence of drugs than are impaired and under the influence of alcohol by a margin of nearly 2:1, with marijuana impairment exceeding at slightly more than 2:1.
The penalties for driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol are not to be lightly dismissed, as Ambarian’s report to the media detailed the many negative consequences of a DUI arrest and conviction, including “jail time, fines, fees…and other expenses that can exceed $10,000.”
