Former Fullerton city manager sentenced for reckless driving involving alcohol

The former city manager of Fullerton pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of driving recklessly after consuming alcohol, officials said.

In the early morning hours after the November 2016 election, Joseph Burt Felz, 58, who was city manager at the time, crashed his car into a tree and a witness called the police, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Fullerton police spotted Felz nearby, but officials said he failed to stop his car right away.

After officers gave him a field sobriety test, they drove him home in a police car. The agency later transferred the case to the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors are investigating the police agency’s handling of the incident.

Felz was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and three years of informal probation. He was also ordered to complete a three-month program on the dangers of drinking and driving.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek