Efren Carrillo arrested on Prowling and Burglary charges!!!!

[dominus]

I think the police know more than what's being said.

There are two things that most puzzles me about this:

[arthunter]

The police did not even test his blood alcohol level and they stated that he wasn't that drunk ... and yet the lynch mob looks no further in their assessment of this incident ... let the facts come out ... once again, the man deserves due process and his 6th amendment rights ...

and so often in this discussion, the San Diego fight has been mentioned ... it's been said that Carillo never issued a statement, and that he must have been responsible for the man lying unconscious on the street ... where are you folks getting this stuff? because it isn't true ... here's a PD article about the incident in which Carillo does issue a statement ( even apologizing for it being late ) and two witnesses claim that he never hit anyone ...

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120919/articles/120919459#page=1

Also, I find it strange that a man who would be protecting women from obvious harassment would then turn around and try to assault a female neighbor .... there's so much of this story that doesn't make sense ...

but what I really want to know is who's in charge of the rumor factory? ....

The arresting officers did not find him to be intoxicated enough to warrant a charge of public drunkenness which makes me wonder why most of the public discussion turns on the "fact"--never established--that he was drunk

[podfish]

... and yet the lynch mob looks no further in their assessment of this incident ...

but what I really want to know is who's in charge of the rumor factory? ....

pretty weak excuse for a lynch mob. But sorry, pot calling kettle black here? "rumor factory" ??? There is a set of posters here who spin unsubstantiated but oh so possible (I'll only parenthetically use "conspiracy" 'cuz it's pejorative) theories about what happened. None of them are on the side calling for, uh, not a lynching, but a resignation of a public official who's called his trustworthiness into question.

[dzerach]

I was only responding to what his supporters seem to believe is true. (Their understanding is naturally buoyed by the public having been officially told that he is in rehab for a drinking problem.) Whether he was or wasn't during "the embarrassing incident" is entirely extraneous to me.

[Karen]

I'm in favor of taking a new poll. Seems the choice is between having someone appointed by the Governor (if he resigns) or electing someone else (if he doesn't). I'd like to change my answer on general principles anyway, since I am not that sure I have enough facts about what's been going on to decide yet. I voted for his resignation but now I'd like to vote, "I do not know". Now that Liberty Lady has given us more info, maybe others are also not so sure as well.

I would like to direct our attention to the poll, above. The folks who vote that Carrillo resign immediately outnumber EVERYONE ELSE almost 3 to 1!

[Karen]

But podfish, the police did not run a test on his blood for alcohol either time he was accused. If anything is unsubstantiated here, it's the "fact" that he was drunk.

pretty weak excuse for a lynch mob. But sorry, pot calling kettle black here? "rumor factory" ??? There is a set of posters here who spin unsubstantiated but oh so possible (I'll only parenthetically use "conspiracy" 'cuz it's pejorative) theories about what happened. None of them are on the side calling for, uh, not a lynching, but a resignation of a public official who's called his trustworthiness into question.

[sebastacat]

I saw many inconsistencies in Efren's statement regarding the San Diego incident and the original article in the Press Democrat, which stated that police rolled onto the scene to a fight in progress. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the officers had an ample opportunity to witness at least some of the events as they were taking place right in front of them.

But putting San Diego aside for a moment and concentrating only on this latest incident, I wonder whether the police had on-board surveillance cameras in their police cruisers which recorded this latest incident. Perhaps if they did, it would help answer at least some of the questions which many of us have.

But, then again, perhaps they would just raise more questions than they would answer.....

Regarding the drunk-in-public issue, it must be pointed out that an arrest for that condition usually involves a judgment call on the part of the officer and that a blood-alcohol test is seldom administered, unlike a D.U.I., where the implied-consent law kicks in.

In fact, I have read that one of the most common defenses to a drunk-in-public charge is to challenge the recollection of the arresting officer.

Since it has been stated definitively that Efren was on foot, the officers involved made a judgment call that he had indeed been drinking but was not so impaired that his condition necessitated an arrest for a drunk-in-public charge.

[Sara S]

It just might be that the police, discovering that Carrillo was an elected county supervisor, chose not to add the charge of drunkenness to the other charges (which they could not ignore).

There are two things that most puzzle me about this: 1)The arresting officers did not find him to be intoxicated enough to warrant a charge of public drunkenness which makes me wonder why most of the public discussion turns on the "fact"--never established--that he was drunk

[podfish]

But podfish, the police did not run a test on his blood for alcohol either time he was accused. If anything is unsubstantiated here, it's the "fact" that he was drunk.

ok, I'll broaden my observation. There are a lot of people speculating on what happened. There's another, somewhat overlapping group calling for his resignation. The most entertaining and largest number of posts here are irrelevant to the call for him to resign - but hey, it's always Friday night at the barstool here at Wacco, so step on up and make your pitch.
Whether he was factually drunk or not doesn't matter. He, through his supporters (though there have been claims here that his supporters actually are his puppet masters, I know... ) states he has a drinking problem. The police saw fit to treat this event as a sexual assault. There's a commonly-used system of government in this county that will deal with the 'facts' - establishing whether they're legally to be considered proven and whether he's to be punished by fines or imprisonment. Our Wacco community can weigh in all they want about how that may play out but it's just for our own entertainment - it has zero impact on Carillo's future freedom.
The more substantive discussion is around whether he's able to continue to hold public office. There's a different standard for that, and he's violated it in many peoples' opinions. The finely-parsed details of the events aren't going to have major impact on this. He's been tarred by a broad brush. I guess we have a third member of the horseshoe and handgrenade club -- close enough is good enough.

[Barry]

I'd like to change my answer on general principles anyway, since I am not that sure I have enough facts about what's been going on to decide yet. I voted for his resignation but now I'd like to vote, "I do not know".

I have added the option to remove your vote so you can vote again:

[Karen]

Do you remember Oliver North? Sold drugs to finance a secret, illegal war for Nixon (Iran/Contra) and yet, after he had been found out, found the support to run for senator...I wouldnt count Carrillo out so quickly. People come back from much worse than this.
Character assassination is a tried and true tool in politics. I think we should all be extra aware right now as to what is going down in our local, state and national governments. Things like this, especially with so many pieces that don't really fit, should rightly be looked upon with an open mind, if not suspicion.

ok, I'll broaden my observation.

[arthunter]

Karen, thank you for your open mind ... now let's see if anyone calls you a conspiracy theorist ...

Do you remember Oliver North?

[tommy]

ya, I agree, his behavior is more typical of marijuana ... which in my mostly historic experience, puts "out of the box, original and creative" ideas in your head that in the next morning can be ridiculous, or I guess "embarrassing" as Efren would say... although a shrink or mythologist would link to deeper soulful urges.

Sex and male politicians is such a hot topic, our own little scandal that mirrors Weiner, the San Diego mayor, and Monica. Are most male politicians just not getting enough at home? I don't know, but it occurs to me that some of the Tea Partiers might be on the extreme wing on this phenomena.

and 2)His behavior as described is not at all typical of drunken behavior. I can think of other substances that might trigger the described behavior but intoxication is not one of them.

[photolite]

Iran/Contra occurred during Reagan's administration, not Nixon's.

Do you remember Oliver North? Sold drugs to finance a secret, illegal war for Nixon (Iran/Contra)

[Karen]

right, slip of the pen. getting old, i guess. thanks for the correction.

Iran/Contra occurred during Reagan's administration, not Nixon's.

[Barry]

Efren was charged with the misdemeanor of "peeking" today. I have started a new thread called "Efren charged with "misdemeanor peeking" in General Community to discuss this. I am closing this thread.