Suspect Facing 12 Felony Charges

Three Huntington Beach police officers testified Wednesday at a court hearing for David Edwin Wilson, 41, a tree-trimmer with a long record of drunk-driving arrests.

Wilson was in West Orange County Municipal Court for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence of a crime to bind him over for trial in Superior Court.

He is charged with 12 felonies and seven other offenses, including driving under the influence four times last summer, driving with a suspended license, giving a false name to police in order to escape prosecution, and leaving the scene of an accident.

A tangle of police and court records indicate that Wilson has at least a dozen arrests for drunk driving and other crimes--and possibly as many as 19--under several different aliases dating back to 1978. Wilson has served at least two terms in Orange County Jail, records show.

But in this case, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. James F. Bacin seeks to prove only four drunk-driving cases still pending against Wilson, as well as six prior offenses since 1983.

At Wednesday’s hearing, the Huntington Beach officers testified that on May 13 they spotted Wilson driving erratically, pulled him over and arrested him, Bacin said.

Police have said Wilson was often released after arrest despite his long record and a revoked license because he gave them names of other people who had valid drivers’ licenses, including his brothers.