Salinas Police sting targets DUI offenders

On Tuesday Salinas police officers from about 8:00a.m. to noon, conducted a court sting at the Monterey County Courthouse.

Officers researched the court calendar ahead of time and found which defendants would be arraigned on charges related to DUI.

Officers ran the driver’s status and found which of them were prohibited from driving and then sat, undercover in the courtrooms to watch the arraignments.

They followed suspended and unlicensed drivers out to their cars to see if the defendant got in the car and drove away.

Two drivers were cited for being suspended or unlicensed. Both drivers had their cars impounded for 30 days.

The under cover officers followed over a dozen other suspended drivers out of the court room but none of them got behind the wheel.

The traffic unit conducted a court sting operation at this time last year and seven drivers were cited.

“I hope that this reduction shows that the word is getting out and suspended drivers are learning that they better not drive,” said Sergeant Gerry Ross. “I was pleasantly surprised that so many people made the right decision not to drive.”

Funding for this court sting operation was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.