Crime & Safety
One July 4 DUI Arrest in Cupertino
The Sheriff's office reportedly made one driving under the influence arrest Wednesday in Cupertino and another in Saratoga.
One DUI arrest was made in Cupertino on July 4 by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza.
The agency also made an arrest in Saratoga the same day, he said. These are the only Independence Day DUI arrests the Sheriff's Office is reporting at this time.
The arrests are part of the county-wide "Avoid the 13" campaign, which cracks down on alcohol or drug impaired driving through increased sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols, saturation points and other methods, according to the CHP.
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As of Tuesday, DUI arrests throughout the county had gone down from last year, with . However, Cardoza said today he is still waiting for a number of agencies to report July 4 arrests.
Cardoza said Cupertino will have saturation patrols Saturday and Sunday, meaning more deputies will be roving the streets looking for drivers under the influence.
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"They'll be looking for persons who are weaving and other driving indicators that would be relevant to a drunk driver," he said.
Other cities with saturation patrols throughout the weekend are Campbell, Mountain View and San Jose.
No DUI checkpoints are planned for the Cupertino area, though one will be set up in neighboring Sunnyvale on Saturday.
Cardoza advises those who plan on carrying their Fourth celebrations into the weekend to have a back-up plan for transportation.
"Have a designated driver, make arrangement to get a taxi or take public transportation and avoid the whole mess of getting arrested for a DUI," he said. "Someone could get injured and DUI arrests come with fines and penalties that are pretty stiff. The bottom line is it's just not worth it."