Ex-Murrieta mayor, who resigned after alleged DUI crash, is reelected
Alan Long, who resigned as mayor of Murrieta after being accused of a DUI crash that injured four high school cheerleaders, has been reelected.
Long earned 5,339 votes Tuesday night, winning one of three seats on the Murrieta City Council.
He came in second to Rick Gibbs, who received 6,262 votes. Jonathan Ingram earned the third seat with 4,260 votes.
Long, 44, announced his resignation in October, days after police accused him of driving under the influence of alcohol Oct. 16 when he crashed into a car occupied by four teen girls, all of them Murrieta high school students.
He rear-ended the students’ vehicle while driving south on Jefferson Avenue toward Lily Avenue in a full-sized truck, police said.
Prosecutors charged Long with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and injuring the teen girls.
Long, who is also a battalion chief with the Anaheim Fire Department, showed “signs and symptoms consistent with alcohol impairment,” police said.
Prosecutors allege his blood alcohol level was 0.08, which they say “presumes a driver to be impaired.”
His attorney, Virginia Blumenthal, has insisted that Long’s blood-alcohol level was “well below” the legal limit.
Long was elected in November 2010 with the “highest number of votes,” according to his biography on the city’s website.
For breaking news in Los Angeles and throughout California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.
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