Jan 8, 2016

Mark Wheetley's arrest yet no charge is news but Hezekiah Allen gets a pass even after he plead guilty to a DUI?

From Humboldt County Jail Reports:

Mark Edward Wheetley arrested by California Highway Patrol 1/7.16 at 9:30 p.m. for VC23152(a).

Arrest does not mean that he will be charged. 


From Shouse Law site:

Most people who get arrested for DUI in California ultimately get charged with two separate misdemeanor offenses:
  • driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, under California Vehicle Code 23152(a) VC, and
  • driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or greater, pursuant to California Vehicle Code 23152(b) VC.2
Penalties for DUI offenses increase with each "prior" conviction.  Penalties generally 
consist of probation, alcohol education classes, fines and possible jail time.  A 
first-time offender faces no mandatory minimum jail time, while a second-time offender 
faces a minimum of 96 hours in county jail.  For a third-time offender, minimum jail 
time increases to 120 days.  A DUI causing injury can be charged as either a 
misdemeanor  or felony and can involve state prison time.


LOCO and TS reported on  Wheetley yet Noah Levy's DUI arrest was only reported after I wrote about it on my blog and called out lack of coverage in the media.

Hezekiah Allen has run for office twice, and backed out, he is very active in the marijuana growers association and lobbying for certain causes and politicians. His case actually proceeded through the court system and he eventually plead out. Hezekiah Allen has three older cases in the court system, one for unsafe speed, another for unsafe lane change and one for using cell phone while driving with two bail bond forfeitures.  No coverage on any media other than links to my blog.

Kailan Meserve, the son of Arcata City Council member Dave Meserve, was held to answer charges after a preliminary on several alleged sexual assault charges. No report on that in any media.

This is Mark Wheetley's first arrest and it is news because he is running for office? 


Ryan Sundberg was not in office when his DUI was covered; Johanna Rodoni was a former Supervisor and her DUI arrest was covered. Selective coverage is not okay.


2 comments:

  1. To be clear then, we should not report on elected officials DUI? I think I agree with you in general as we all should be allowed to be human, but no coverage? I wonder where the unwritten rules would start and end? Would we report on a second? What other crimes would be noteworthy? Murder obviously. Theft? Jaywalking? Is it a misdemeanor/felony breakdown? Enquiring minds want to know.

    Also - an update. KINS asked this question today. I'm sure it isn't at all related.

    "Would you vote to elect a local official if they were arrested for a misdemeanor such as a DUI?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. As I made it clear Jon, either report on all DUIs and crimes by elected officials and their spouses/families or don't. Consistency not cherry picking.

    ReplyDelete

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