Ex-O.C. supervisor sentenced to jail time
Former Orange County Supervisor and Assemblyman Bruce Nestande was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail and three years’ probation in connection with a drunk-driving accident last year.
Nestande, 69, had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence and hit-and-run, as well as filing a fraudulent insurance claim, a felony. Under a plea agreement, the felony charge will be dropped if he completes his confinement and probation, his lawyer said.
“I am satisfied because it gives him an opportunity to not live the rest of his life with a felony conviction,” attorney Ron Brower said.
The charges stemmed from an Aug. 10, 2006, accident in which Nestande, who had been drinking at a Newport Beach restaurant, hit a parked car while driving near his Lido Isle home. Authorities said he filed an insurance claim falsifying the accident’s time and place.
“It was bad judgment,” Brower said, “and not truly criminal behavior. I believe that’s why the D.A.’s office is giving him a chance to relieve himself of the felony.”
The prosecutor in the case, Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Schatzle, could not be reached for comment.
Nestande will apply to serve his sentence, which begins June 22, in home confinement, Brower said. Conditions of his sentence, authorities said, include completing an alcohol rehabilitation program, attending a Mothers Against Drunk Driving seminar and paying $14,379 in restitution.
Nestande, a Republican, served three terms in the Assembly from 1974 to 1980 and was on the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 1981 to 1987.
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