Saloon Owner Jailed After Drunken Incident, Police Say

A San Clemente saloon owner was jailed on suspicion of drunk driving Thursday evening after barging into a court-ordered counseling session by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and then trying to drive away, authorities said.

Douglas Alfred Harrison III, 41, was arrested as he left the MADD meeting, where victims of drunk drivers were the featured speakers, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Carol Kelly.

“To show up falling-down drunk to a meeting where there are people in wheelchairs, where they’ve been put there because of drunk drivers, it’s just unbelievable,” Kelly said. “People just don’t learn. It’s hard to believe.”

Harrison, the owner of the Wagon Wheel Saloon, was put on probation last week and ordered to attend the session as part of his sentence for a Sept. 15 drunk-driving offense, Kelly said. Harrison’s license was suspended in October, Kelly said.

Harrison arrived at the session late and banged loudly on the metal doors of the Crown Valley Community Center, but was told that no tardy participants were allowed, said Kelly, who was at the meeting. The MADD member who answered the door smelled alcohol on Harrison’s breath and told him not to drive, Kelly said.

Another CHP officer at the site saw Harrison driving erratically in the rain-slicked parking lot and stopped him, Kelly said. “It was clear he could not drive safely,” Kelly said.