Last Updated on January 6, 2023 by CCAR Staff
Roger Clinton, the half-brother of former President Bill Clinton and brother-in-law to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, will be charged next week with driving under the influence in Redondo Beach last month, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Clinton, 59, who is out on bail following his June 5 arrest, will face charges that could send him to county jail for six months with fines of $390 to $1,000, along with a mandatory 48 hours in county jail for refusing to take a chemical test, Redondo Beach City Prosecutor Melanie Chavira said.
Above legal driving limit
Clinton is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 2 in Torrance Superior Court on charges of driving while impaired, driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit for driving (0.08) and failure to complete a chemical test.
He does not have to appear in court because the charges are misdemeanors. His attorney, Walter Wiggins Jr., can represent him.
“Given the filing of formal charges against Roger Clinton related to allegations of DUI, we look forward to working amicably with the city prosecutor in an effort to assess the evidence and arrive at a fair resolution of the matter,” Wiggins said in an email.
Clinton was arrested about 7:20 p.m. June 5 after a concerned citizen called the Redondo Beach Police Department to report a possible drunken driver headed south in an erratic manner on Pacific Coast Highway, police said.
The caller followed the vehicle and provided updates. Officers caught up to the car and pulled it over near Torrance Boulevard and Prospect Avenue.
Roger Clinton was evaluated for driving under the influence of alcohol, which included field sobriety tests, and was arrested. His passengers were released.
Chavira said he took a “preliminary alcohol screening” test in the field, blowing into a device to measure his level. She did not reveal the result.
“It is well over the legal limit,” Chavira said.
Refuses Breathalyzer
Once at the Redondo Beach police station, Clinton refused to take a Breathalyzer test or submit to blood or urine tests, Chavira said.
Chavira said the paperwork on Clinton’s charges will be filed next week in Torrance.
Clinton, wearing a blue Los Angeles Clippers T-shirt and shorts, was released about 10 the next morning on $15,000 bail. He and his attorney dodged media as they left the station.
Roger Clinton has lived in the South Bay for decades, first in Redondo Beach and then Torrance. Voter registration records show he now lives in Lomita.
Former President Clinton has occasionally visited the schools of Roger Clinton’s son. In May, the former president spoke at Tyler Clinton’s commencement at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester. Hillary Clinton also attended.
Roger Clinton was previously arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Hermosa Beach in 2001, when he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or 0.09. Police said he was driving on the wrong side of the road and bumping curbs. Clinton ultimately pleaded no contest to a charge of reckless driving. He was sentenced to 24 months probation, ordered to perform 113 hours of community service and pay a $200 fine.
Chavira said the prior conviction cannot play a role in strengthening the penalties in his new case because it occurred more than 10 years ago.
Before he left office in 2001, President Clinton pardoned his brother for a drug conviction years earlier.
