DA’s Office Kept Busy Overseeing Local DUI Dispositions

• Celebrity Names May Mean Additional Media Interest But that’s the Most Notable Difference

BY ANNE SOBLE

Yes, there is a lot more media interest in the disposition of cases involving celebrities, according to the hardworking spokespersons for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, but no, those calls aren’t handled any differently than all of the other calls for information on cases wending their way through the county’s labyrinthian legal system.
Barron Hilton, 18, scion to the Hilton family fortune and brother of self-perpetuated celebrity Paris of the same name, pleaded no contest in Malibu Municipal Court on April 9 to two misdemeanor counts from a drunk-driving incident last month.
Pleading no contest, or nolo contendere, is not an admission of guilt, but the charges are not contested. It was reported that Hilton had a .14 blood alcohol reading. In California, .08 is considered legal intoxication for drivers over 21. For drivers under 21, any blood alcohol level constitutes legal intoxication.
Hilton was given three years summary probation by Commissioner H. Jay Ford, and his driver license was suspended for a year.
The most recent Hilton offspring to attract the legal spotlight was not in court as his lawyer entered his pleas to drunken driving and possessing a false driver license, according to district attorney spokesperson Shiara Davila.
A third charge related to driving under the influence and a count of being an unlicensed driver were dismissed in the deal.
Hilton was ordered to pay $2000 in fines and penalties and participate in three alcohol education programs, including one run by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, one that requires a visit to a morgue, and a third run by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Hilton was arrested in Malibu Feb. 12 behind the wheel of a 2008 Mercedes-Benz E350 registered to a Nevada corporation that was spotted weaving on Pacific Coast Highway.
At some point prior to 8 a.m., he may have struck another vehicle, a gas station pump and employee. Hilton faces a June 4 hearing to determine restitution on these allegations.
Witnesses’ testimony stated that a 19-year-old female passenger who was in the car with Hilton and may have assumed the wheel at some time during the erratic driving, was also responsible for a hit-and-run incident on Pacific Coast Highway.
The California Highway Patrol has kept that aspect of the investigation under wraps because it has not yet produced any charges.
REDMOND O’NEAL
The son of longtime local residents Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal has pleaded not guilty to drug charges stemming from a Malibu arrest, according the DA Office’s Davila.
Redmond James O’Neal, 23, entered pleas last Friday to two felony charges of possessing heroin and methamphetamine and two misdemeanor counts that include DUI.
Prosecutors said O’Neal was arrested after sheriff’s deputies spotted his car speeding on Pacific Coast Highway before dawn on Jan. 26. According to the official report, the younger O’Neal was released on bond from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on the day of his arrest.
He is set to appear in Malibu Superior Court on May 29 for a preliminary hearing scheduling to determine if he will stand trial.