Candelaria Found Not Guilty of Drunk Driving

Pitcher John Candelaria, formerly of the Angels and now with the New York Yankees, was found not guilty of drunk driving by an Orange County Municipal Court jury in Laguna Niguel Friday. The weeklong trial had focused on the accuracy of a jail’s breath-alcohol analysis machine.

Candelaria still faces a second charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, stemming from a second arrest last spring.

He was found not guilty in his April 18 arrest, after which the machine registered his blood alcohol level at .17%. Under California law, a driver is presumed to be under the influence of alcohol if the blood alcohol level exceeds .10.

Still ahead is a charge that his alcohol level was .20% when arrested May 14. At the time he was with the Angels, and left the team voluntarily to undergo a 28-day program at a counseling center.