Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Former Boulder City Councilwoman Karla Burton was at home last week within hours of being sentenced to 25 days in the Clark County Detention Center after appearing in a special DUI Court after she had been drinking.
Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle suspended the jail time and allowed Burton to go directly to house arrest after reconsidering her decision last Tuesday.
“After the judge considered all of the facts ... she decided one more chance was warranted,” said Tracy Cordoba, Osterle’s executive assistant. “They believe they have her attention now.”
Burton was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence in February 2007 and agreed to a plea deal that required her to enter the Moderate Offender Program. While making her first appearance in that program before Oesterle, she failed a Breathalyzer test, showing a blood-alcohol level of 0.115, over the legal limit to drive of 0.08. Burton said she had not been driving, but under terms of the program she is not supposed to drink at all.
Attorneys argued that Burton had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence before a different judge and had not been given Oesterle’s usual stern verbal warning to stay away from alcohol, Oesterle’s executive assistant said.
While on house arrest, Burton will wear a GPS anklet to monitor her location and a SCRAM anklet, which checks for alcohol use.
She was also required to obtain a breath interlock device, which is installed in an automobile and disables it if the driver has been drinking. Burton has obtained all of the devices, Cordoba said.
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