(Woodland, CA) – September 20, 2018- District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced today that on September 18, 2018, a Yolo County jury convicted Malik Antwaun Nelson, 22, of Gilroy of driving under the influence of marijuana in a construction zone.
On October 6, 2017, a CHP officer was monitoring a construction zone on westbound I-80, in the City of West Sacramento. All lanes except for the far left lane had been closed off and workers were on site, performing work on the roadway. The officer saw Malik Nelson driving in the closed-off portion of the road, toward the workers. The officer made a traffic stop and immediately notices signs and symptoms that Mr. Nelson was under the influence of marijuana. The officer conducted field sobriety exercises and arrested Mr. Nelson for driving under the influence. A subsequent blood test found both active THC and inactive THC, as well as the metabolite for cocaine, in Mr. Nelson’s blood.
The jury convicted Nelson of driving under the influence of a drug or drugs. Mr. Nelson admitted that the charged construction zone enhancement was true. Judge David W. Rosenberg sentenced Mr. Nelson to jail time, three years of probation, over $4,000 in fines, and a three month DUI offender course.
Rhonda L. Craft, the Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety stated, “Driving under the influence not only puts lives at risk, but is also a crime that will not be tolerated. Our work educating the public that DUI doesn’t just mean booze, combined with law enforcement, toxicology and prosecution is a collaborative effort to make roadways safer for everyone by taking people off the road who ignore the law and drive impaired.”
This case was investigated by the California Highway Patrol and the toxicology work was completed by the California Department of Justice.
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The image of Nelson driving in construction zone
