LAKEPORT, Calif. – A off-duty Lake County Sheriff's deputy was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Jay Vanoven, 31, of Lakeport was taken into custody at approximately 11:57 p.m. Wednesday by Lakeport Police Officer Angie Bell, according to his booking sheet.
Vanoven was booked into the Lake County Jail shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday on one count of misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol, with bail set at $5,000. Jail records indicated he later posted the required percentage of bail and was released.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said he could not comment on the incident, and referred all questions about it to the Lakeport Police Department.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the investigative report on Vanoven's arrest is not yet completed, but he was able to share preliminary information about the incident that led to the arrest with Lake County News.
At 11:20 p.m. Wednesday Bell and fellow Lakeport Police Office Mike Sobieraj were dispatched to a call for service on Palm Drive at 15th Street, according to the department's dispatch records.
Rasmussen said a resident called police to advise that a vehicle had pulled up into the area with its headlights on. A short time later, the reporting party noticed that the driver was slumped over the driving wheel, with the vehicle still running.
Officers arrived and woke up the driver, who was identified as Vanoven, and determined he was intoxicated, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the officers subsequently began a DUI investigation. They concluded Vanoven's blood alcohol level was 0.23, nearly three times the legal limit.
With the final report still not completed, Rasmussen did not have details about Vanoven's statements to officers or where he had been that night.
While Vanoven is a Lakeport resident, the area where his vehicle was found was not his neighborhood, and Rasmussen said he did not know why Vanoven was in that part of the city.
Rasmussen said his agency's report on the arrest will be submitted to the District Attorney's Office for review.
He called the situation involving a fellow law enforcement officer “unfortunate,” but added, “We still have to do our job and treat it like any other situation.”
Vanoven has served as a deputy for several years, and in that capacity has worked alongside Lakeport Police officers.
Earlier this year, he shot a burglary suspect, James Ellis Smith of Santa Rosa, after Smith allegedly rammed his vehicle into Lakeport Police Officer Joe Eastham's patrol vehicle.
District Attorney Don Anderson later ruled Vanoven's shooting of Smith was justified.
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Off-duty sheriff's deputy arrested on suspicion of DUI
- Elizabeth Larson
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