{"id":43099,"date":"2013-09-19T19:08:34","date_gmt":"2013-09-20T02:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=43099"},"modified":"2013-09-20T12:36:11","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T19:36:11","slug":"lancaster-commissioner-pleads-to-dui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/09\/19\/lancaster-commissioner-pleads-to-dui\/","title":{"rendered":"Lancaster commissioner pleads to DUI"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Drew<\/a>
Drew Mercy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 A Lancaster Architectural and Design Commissioner was sentenced to probation last month for a drunken driving incident that occurred in April, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Andrew \u201cDrew\u201d Mercy<\/strong>, 34, pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of driving while having a .08% or higher blood alcohol. A no-contest plea has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea.<\/p>\n

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed a misdemeanor charge against Mercy for driving under the influence of alcohol, court records show.<\/p>\n

Mercy was immediately sentenced to 36 months summary probation and fined $1,937.<\/p>\n

According to the terms of his probation, Mercy must complete a nine-month first-offender alcohol counseling program and install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, which tests a breath sample and prevents the car from starting if the driver has been drinking. Mercy was also sentenced to three days in county jail, but given two days credit for time served. He was given the option to complete a one-day Mothers Against Drunk Drivers program in lieu of the one day in jail, according to court records.<\/p>\n

The conviction stems from an arrest, which occurred on April 12, when Mercy\u2019s vehicle was stopped near Avenue I and Redwood Avenue in Lancaster. Mercy failed a sobriety test, and he was arrested on suspicion of DUI around 10:45 p.m. and booked at the Lancaster Sheriff\u2019s Station.<\/p>\n

Mercy\u2019s blood-alcohol content tested at .19 percent, more than twice the legal limit, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Mercy sits on the city of Lancaster\u2019s Architectural and Design Commission, he is a past president of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, and he is the Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, 36th Assembly District Central Committee.<\/p>\n

Mercy also serves as George Runner\u2019s Senior Advisor for Taxpayer Advocacy at the California State Board of Equalization, District 2.<\/p>\n

Mercy had been scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Aug. 14, but entered the plea instead.<\/p>\n

Previous related story: Runner aide faces drunk driving charges<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note<\/span>:\u00a0Mercy originally faced two misdemeanor charges \u2013 driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (23152a) and driving with BAC of .08% or higher (23152b). He pleaded no contest to 23152b, and in exchange, 23152a was dismissed.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 A Lancaster Architectural and Design Commissioner was sentenced to probation last month for a drunken driving incident that occurred in April, according to court records. Andrew \u201cDrew\u201d Mercy, 34, pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of driving while having a .08% or higher blood alcohol. A no-contest plea has the same immediate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43099"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}