Candelaria Arrested For Allegedly Driving Under the Influence

Angel pitcher John Candelaria, who will start tonight’s game against the Minnesota Twins, spent four hours in Orange County Jail early Friday morning after being arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to police reports, Candelaria was stopped by an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy at 2:15 a.m. after he ran a stop sign and a traffic light in Laguna Niguel. Candelaria failed a field sobriety test and was taken to Orange County Jail, where he failed a breath-analysis test.

Candelaria was booked and placed in a holding cell. In accordance to the jail’s “cite-and-release” program, designed to prevent overcrowding, Candelaria was held for the required four hours and released at 6:20 a.m.

Sheriff Lt. Richard Olson said a deputy in a marked patrol car saw Candelaria run a stop sign at the corner of Cape Drive and Forbes Road in Laguna Niguel, close to his home in nearby Laguna Hills. The deputy followed Candelaria’s Mercedes-Benz without turning on his emergency lights and, according to Olson, Candelaria then ran a stop light at Crown Valley Parkway and the San Diego Freeway.

At that point, the deputy stopped Candelaria and administered the sobriety test. Candelaria was arrested after the test showed his blood-alcohol level to be “quite a bit” above the state’s legal 0.10 limit, Olson said. Olson added that Candelaria was “basically cooperative” with deputies after his arrest.

Candelaria declined to give details about the incident before Friday night’s game with the Twins at Anaheim Stadium.

“It was my off day,” Candelaria said. (The Angels were idle Thursday.) “It’s nobody’s business but mine.”

Candelaria was asked if he intended to contest the charges.

“It’s my problem,” he said. Later, when referring to the publicity about his arrest, Candelaria asked reporters: “How many times have you driven under the influence?”

The Angels say no fine or other punitive action is planned for Candelaria. “The club’s view is that it happened on his own personal time,” team spokesman Tim Mead said.

Candelaria will make his regularly scheduled start tonight when he opposes Minnesota’s Frank Viola at Anaheim Stadium. Candelaria is 1-0 with a 2.13 earned-run average after two starts.

Said Angel Manager Gene Mauch: “I have two comments about the John Candelaria situation: One, I wish it hadn’t happened and, two, I’m glad he’s not pitching till (Saturday). If he were pitching today, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Candelaria was asked whether, in light of Commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s aggressive stance on substance abuse in baseball, he expected any action from the commissioner’s office.

“The commissioner?” he asked. “Drugs is his stance. This is not the same thing.”