DA’s Office Files DUI Charges Against Iya Falcone

Former Santa Barbara city councilwoman could face up to 15 days in jail if convicted

By Lara Cooper, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @laraanncooper | Published on 09.25.2012 11:26 a.m.

Misdemeanor DUI charges have been filed against former Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Iya Falcone, who was arrested last week after an incident in a parking lot on the Mesa, and could face jail time if convicted.

Iya Falcone

Falcone, 57, was taken into custody last Wednesday after consuming alcohol at the Mesa Cafe, and registering a blood alcohol content of .24, three times the legal limit, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.

Officers responded at 10:46 a.m. to a report of a DUI driver who had been involved in a collision with a parked car, and identified Falcone’s BMW as the suspect vehicle.

A breath test given to Falcone almost two hours later revealed her blood-alcohol level at .24 and .23, three times the legal limit.

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed charges on Tuesday against Falcone for allegedly driving under the influence as well as driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or more.

If Falcone pleads guilty or is convicted, she’ll be facing three years of probation, with the possibility of 15 days in jail, nine months of alcohol education school, a $1,856 fine, a period of suspension for her license, and she’ll be required to make restitution to the other driver.

Contacted Tuesday, Falcone referred all questions to her attorney, Samuel Eaton, who declined comment.

Deputy District Attorney Gary Gemberling said that although police initially charged Falcone with hit-and-run for allegedly walking away from the scene, “it was our opinion that the hit-and-run could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Falcone’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 25.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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» Boycott Boy on 09.25.12 @ 02:20 PM

The only thing “beyond a shadow of doubt” is the fact that our local media doesn’t have the cajones to call out the $500/hr district attorney whose department is just a bureaucratic revenue generator, willing to look the other way when their corrupt cohorts are caught. Trust me DudleyDoNot, truth always gets it’s man!

» SB123 on 09.25.12 @ 02:43 PM

@BoycottBoy. $500 an hour District Attorney?? Revenue generator willing to look away when their corrupt cohorts are caught?? I’m confused on all three points. First, who do they charge $500/hour?? Second, how are they generating revenue?? Third, how is Falcone a cohort with the DA?

» Boycott Boy on 09.25.12 @ 03:06 PM

revenue generation…. have you ever been to court? you don’t have the coin you get the cell. Read the article $1846. months of “education”(I guess you thought this was free) Not to mention DMV’s now got their hand in her pocket… That’s the bare minimum under the law. What if she was held to the same zero tolerance policy people like myself are held too? $5,000 easy, I hear it from lawyers all the time. lawyers pay taxes, ect. Rarely do i state the obvious for the less informed SB news reader…. but in you case there had to be made an acceptation! your welcome

» SB123 on 09.25.12 @ 04:06 PM

@BoycottBoy I have no idea what you are talking about since you did not answer my questions. Perhaps what you are trying to enlighten me on will make a little more sense and be a little more effective if you activate your spell check and grammar check??

» Boycott Boy on 09.25.12 @ 04:35 PM

Sorry, forgot the cohort connection… read on here:

http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jul/13/falcone-public-safety-number-1-job-city/?print

» sbdude on 09.25.12 @ 05:32 PM

That’s kind of a stretch, boycottboy, but I think I know where you’re going. The DA doesn’t “bill” anyone for his/her time. But the inevitable fees added to fine established by state law are certainly a revenue generator for the county.

Not that they’re going to throw the book at Falcone. Despite being three times the legal limit two hours after the original call (she was probably higher than .30), she’ll probably get off with a slap on the wrist given her connection to SB. We can only hope she’ll get the same treatment as Armendariz, but he was the on the highway and she in a parking lot.

» InTheMiddle on 09.26.12 @ 08:00 AM

In a parking lot… on her way from and to the highway. I live on the mesa and walk through that parking lot all the time. Glad I wasn’t walking around on that particular morning. I would say anyone that drunk in the morning definitely has alcoholism issues. Hope she gets help.

» Boycott Boy on 09.26.12 @ 12:16 PM

Here’s a lesson in politics… That’s what were talking about isn’t it. Falcone’s political connections and ideology.

Governor Brown was the D.A. He’s now a Governor. During his tenure as District Attorney he ridiculously mismanaged the dept budget (tax revenue, sales of seized property, court fines and traffic tickets, ect) Law Enforcement’s general revenue was reduced $71 million in 2011!
As Governor, he’s done nothing but devise various “revenue generation” schemes…. be it more taxes (on the rich of course) or by some fiscal thinking out side the box.

» JJ Abercrombie on 09.26.12 @ 07:22 PM

If this were anyone else, they’d already have done 24 hours in SBCO Jail. If this were anyone else, the DA would NEVER drop the hit-and-run allegation; rather, they would let the defendant prove a negative (“I was walking away toward a payphone so that I could tell someone and have them summon the police to properly arrest me.”)
If this were anyone else, the DA’s office would have spent $50K easily to prosecute in order to demonstrate just how serious DUI violations are and how the community feels about them, etc.
But it’s NOT anyone else, is it?
Moreover…
If this were a male suspect, Aaron Tudor would have been summoned to the scene and the suspect would have visited Cottage before arriving at the jail.
How do we know this?
Look at the recent history of DUI enforcement in this city.

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2. With Renewed Vision, SBCC Graduate Robert Gutierrez Sees Bright Future - 05.23.2013 8:53 p.m.
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DA’s Office Files DUI Charges Against Iya Falcone

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