Dad Turned In by Son Pleads Guilty

Last week, Keith Wallace reached a personal low when he was arrested for drunk driving and speeding, not to mention child endangerment because his 3-year-old son, Brandon, was in the car.

Then Brandon upped the ante by reaching down inside the Toyota, grabbing a bag of marijuana and handing it over to the Oxnard police officers who were giving dad a field sobriety test.

“Here,” the boy said to the stunned officers, adding the word “bad.”

But Wallace, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges Tuesday, said his arrest may have been the best thing that could have happened to him.

“I definitely believe it’s a positive thing now,” said the 25-year-old Ventura resident, noting that his wife, Shannon, is sticking by him and is going with him to his Alcoholics Anonymous classes. “We’re doing this as a family. I feel no resentment toward my son for turning me in. It was kind of an act of God, and nobody got killed.

“I didn’t want it to come to that for me to stop; I didn’t want to kill anybody before getting help for my alcoholism.”

Wallace appeared in Ventura County Municipal Court and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and child endangerment. In exchange, the district attorney dropped other charges, including marijuana possession.

Afterward, Wallace declared his seventh day of sobriety, and said his family is stronger than ever. “The last seven days have been really good,” he said. “It’s made me realize how important my family is to me.”

In addition to the AA sessions, the couple will attend parenting classes together, as ordered by Municipal Court Commissioner Kent M. Kellegrew.

As for little Brandon, he spent the day with relatives. At such a young age, he isn’t quite aware of what happened, despite a number of TV crews and newspaper reporters stopping by the family’s west Ventura home last week.

His only reaction came when his mother showed up at the Oxnard Police Department the night of the arrest. She was trying to remain composed, but when she saw her son, she burst into tears.

“Mommy, it’s OK,” said the youngster, sporting a newly acquired Oxnard Police Department “Junior Officer” badge. “Daddy’s coming home. The police are helping daddy.”

In addition to attending the parenting classes, Wallace will have to serve 30 days in County Jail, starting Jan. 5. He received one day’s credit for the time served after the Dec. 16 arrest, which occurred on Harbor Boulevard north of 5th Street.

He will have to pay a fine of about $2,000, which he arranged to handle in monthly $100 payments. However, Wallace, an unemployed construction worker, will also be looking for a job.

“I don’t think he’s going to have a very easy time finding a job with all this,” Shannon said. “I’m very worried about that.”

For now, they are trying to reclaim a marriage that by their own admission was in some trouble.

Afterward, as they walked to the county Probation Department to check in as required, the couple said they are again looking forward to Christmas.

“We’re going to be together, we’ve got presents under the tree,” Wallace said. “We’re a family.”