UPDATE: Trustee Pérez Scheduled to be Arraigned

Rubén AríAztlán Pérez’s now scheduled to be arraigned in August

College of the Desert Trustee Rubén AríAztlán Pérez, 29, who represents Trustee Area 1, is once again scheduled to be arraigned — this time in August — on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge that stems from a Feb. 10 incident in La Quinta.

He was scheduled to be arraigned in June, but the arraignment was rescheduled for Wednesday. It is now rescheduled again. Perez’s defense attorney requested the continuance,

His arraignment is now scheduled for Aug. 9 in Dept. 2K at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Pérez is being represented by Anastacio De La Cruz of Indio and a lifelong resident of the Coachella Valley. De La Cruz was in court Monday morning and not immediately available for comment, a spokesperson said.

Following his arrest, Pérez texted Uken Report to say, “A few weeks ago, I made a terrible mistake of which I am truly sorry. I’d like to sincerely apologize to my family, friends and community. I will do everything in my power to learn and grow from this.”

An arraignment, which is a defendant’s first appearance in court, is a proceeding at which a criminal defendant is formally advised of the criminal charges against him and may be asked to enter a plea to the charges.

The second-term trustee has been the target of a now-stalled ethics probe that could result in a censure.

As alleged in the complaint, the count shows the defendant’s BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.256, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08%. You may read the complaint here.

Across the United States, the legal limit is .08%.

Officers of the La Quinta Police Department arrested Pérez at 12:49 a.m. at Avenue 52 and SilverRock Way, according to jail records.

Pérez was alone when the incident occurred, according to authorities. No other vehicles were involved. He refused to answer any questions, instead referring all of them to his attorney, according to authorities.

According to authorities familiar with the incident, Pérez was in the opposite lane of vehicle traffic flow, with his lights off and allegedly passed out. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, according to those familiar with the incident.

With a BAC of .25 to 29, almost all aspects of your brain are severely impaired, according to the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. You may have passed out by this point. Vomiting is likely and the chance of asphyxiation on your own vomit is greatly increased. If you haven’t passed out, the risk of personal injury is high because you have little to no physical control. You are emotionally numb.

Your BAC is determined primarily by how much alcohol you drank, the rate of consumption, your weight and your gender. Other influences include: other drugs in system, hydration level, food in the stomach, type of drink.