O.C. sheriff's official charged with DUI in Irvine accident

A ranking Orange County sheriff’s official has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol after causing a car accident in Irvine.

Irvine police arrested Lt. Erin Lorraine Guidice, 48, last month after the vehicle she was driving crashed into the back of another car stopped at a red light on Jamboree Road.

She was driving an unmarked Orange County Sheriff’s Department vehicle at the time, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office, which filed the charges Thursday.

Irvine police said Guidice had slurred speech, bloodshot and watery eyes and had trouble keeping her balance during a sobriety test. She had a blood alcohol level of 0.14%, or nearly twice the legal limit, authorities said.

The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

After the accident, Guidice was transferred from her post as head of the Orange County sheriff’s Harbor Patrol to a position at the county's Theo Lacy Jail.

If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail. She is scheduled to be arraigned next month.

—My-Thuan Tran

Comments

[Crassroots]

Drunk Driving = Bad

That being said, she is in some hot water here, but we need to keep in mind that there are other things at play here. Although she erred and will pay a price for it, we need to keep her in our thoughts and prayers.

She needs support as a person, not condemnation as a cop, right now.

[What kind of cop]

She is supposed to set an example to others! I say throw the book at her. I bet she didn't go to the county jail. More than likely driven home, because ther's two sets of laws in Orange County. The laws we must follow and the one's sherriffs follow. Two different laws for sure.