23 arrested at driver checkpoints

<p>Twenty people were arrested for driving without a license and three were arrested for DUI during two police checkpoints in Petaluma conducted between 6 p.m Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday, officials said.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Twenty people were arrested for driving without a license and three were arrested for DUI during two police checkpoints in Petaluma conducted between 6 p.m Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday, officials said.</p><p>Two others were arrested for driving with a suspended license.</p><p>One of the three people arrested for DUI was taken to Sonoma County Jail because of the severity of the person's intoxication, said Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano.</p><p>The 20 people who were arrested for driving without a license had never been issued driver's licenses, Savano said. They were arrested at the scene and released with a citation to appear in Sonoma County Superior Court.</p><p>The first checkpoint was held Friday on northbound Sonoma Mountain Parkway at Castle Drive between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The second one was conducted on eastbound East Washington Street at Lakeville Street between 10 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday.</p><p>Savano said the occupants of 1,111 vehicles were screened at the two checkpoints. Of these, 75 drivers were directed into a nearby parking area for further screening of either DUI evaluation or driver's license checks.</p><p>“Everybody has to understand that when it comes to traffic safety it's not just arresting people,” Savano said.</p><p>A total of 12 vehicles were towed, and half of them are being impounded for 30 days because of driving with a suspended license or with no license at all.</p><p>— Martin Espinoza, The Press Democrat</p>