SUBMITTED ARTICLE
GONZALES — On April 11, Francisco Napoles Medina, 54, of Watsonville, was found guilty by a jury of felony driving under the influence of alcohol with three prior DUI convictions, two of which were felonies.
The jury also found true that Medina has served four prior prison terms for previous DUI convictions.
Medina will be sentenced May 10 by the Honorable Pamela L. Butler. He faces a maximum sentence of seven years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. According to court and other official law enforcement records, the defendant has 12 prior DUI convictions.
The jury found that on July 23, 2016, officers conducted a traffic enforcement stop on Medina because he was swerving on Alta Street in Gonzales. When asked by officers, Medina refused to submit to field sobriety tests, a breath test as well as a blood test.
Gonzales Police Officer Castillo authored a search warrant for the defendant’s blood, which was signed and approved by the Honorable Efren Iglesia. Despite Medina’s repeated attempts at refusing all chemical tests, the search warrant allowed officers to collect his blood at Natividad Medical Center.
Medina’s blood alcohol level was .17, four hours after driving.
This case was investigated by Gonzales Police Department Officer Cesar Castillo. This case was presented by members of the District Attorney’s Office specialized DUI Vertical Prosecution Unit. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
