The driver at the center of a community controversy over alleged excessive use of force by a Santa Barbara police officer had his DUI criminal case transferred to the Santa Maria courthouse Friday.
On the night of Oct. 21, 2011, police Officer Aaron Tudor pulled over Tony Denunzio, 50, of Santa Barbara, on suspicion of driving under the influence.
After the stop in the Loreto Plaza parking lot, Denunzio got out of his truck, which prompted a physical response by Tudor, who hit, kicked and repeatedly Tasered the suspect. Some of the confrontation was captured by a dashboard video camera in Tudor’s police car.
Tudor and police officials say Denunzio was resisting arrest. Denunzio and a number of eyewitnesses say he was not resisting and that Tudor’s response was excessive.
An investigation by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office did not find sufficient admissible evidence to file either resisting arrest charges against Denunzio or excessive force charges against Tudor. An internal investigation is under way against Tudor, although Police Chief Cam Sanchez has said he did nothing wrong.
Denunzio has pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08, driving on a suspended license and allegations related to two prior convictions for alcohol-related driving offenses. In a separate case, he is undergoing trial for domestic violence charges.
The District Attorney’s Office has long planned to move the case because of the publicity surrounding it, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss. The office even assigned a North County-based deputy district attorney, Mai Trieu, to the case and was granted the transfer on Friday by Superior Court Judge Clifford Anderson.
Defense attorney Darryl Genis’ motion to suppress was taken off the court calendar.
Denunzio is scheduled to next appear on Jan. 20 in Judge Edward Bullard’s courtroom in Santa Maria.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.