Murrieta City Councilman Alan Long has entered into a plea agreement on DUI charges stemming from an Oct. 16, 2014, incident which injured four teenage girls, ages 14-17 while they were driving home from a pep rally at a local high school.
Murrieta police were called to the intersection of Jefferson and Lily Avenues regarding the vehicle crash with injuries after Long’s truck struck them from behind while they were in a left-hand turn lane, according to published reports.
Long had previously denied the felony charges which were filed against him in November that same year. He entered a ‘not guilty’ plea during his initial court appearance at the Southwest Justice Center Dec. 9, 2014.
Long, who was serving as mayor at the time of the accident, stepped down from his post Oct. 20, 2014, citing distractions from the accident and DUI allegations against him and concern for the city as the reasons for stepping down. He was up for re-election at the time and did not suspend his campaign.
“Once the legal process is complete, I feel I will be exonerated and therefore see no reason why I should not seek re-election,” Long said during the news conference.
Long, whose bid for re-election to city council that same year was successful, entered into the plea agreement Friday, Jan. 22, just one week before his trial was scheduled to start.
Long’s attorney, Virginia Blumenthal, advanced the court date from Jan. 29 to Jan. 22, according to Riverside County District Attorney Office Information Specialist John Hall.
“On that day he did plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of DUI with injury,” Hall wrote in an email. “It was a plea agreement with our office.”
According to Hall, Long was sentenced the same day to 180 days in custody, which may be served on electronic monitoring, and three years of probation.
While on probation, Long must obey all laws, ordinances and court orders, refrain from driving with any measurable alcohol in his system and attend and satisfactorily complete a first offender DUI program for three months. He will also be required to pay the victims a yet to be determined amount in restitution.
While Murrieta City Council members can hold each other accountable under the city’s code of conduct, according to city attorney Leslie Devaney, since the charges were downgraded to a misdemeanor, there are no legal ramifications for Long to sit as an elected official.
It remains unclear at this time how the city council will react to Long’s plea agreement. Calls to the city were not returned by press time.
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