MADERA – Another Madera County Administrator has been arrested for driving under the influence. In the most recent case, Madera County Chief Administrative Officer Eric Fleming was pulled over and cited following a night out on July 3, 2019, by the Fresno City Police Department.
Fleming announced via email Thursday afternoon to the Madera County Board of Supervisors and Madera County Council Regina Garza after learning of a pending story about the arrest in the Madera Tribune to be published this weekend.
“I find myself in an unfortunate situation and I wanted you all to be aware. I apologize to all of you for bringing this negative attention to our management team and our organization.”, Fleming said to the board.
Two hours after that email to the county heads was sent, Chairman of the Madera County Board of Supervisors Brett Frazier reached out to Big Valley News to inform us of the July arrest. An hour later we received a second statement from Fleming regarding the incident.
“I am human and I make mistakes. Last July, I made a huge mistake and chose to drive home after celebrating with friends. I was pulled over by the Fresno PD on suspicion of driving under the influence. I received a citation and was allowed to go home. The case is pending. I want to apologize to my family, friends, the Board of Supervisors and the employees of the Madera County organization for bringing this negative attention.”
We reached out to Fleming this afternoon to ask why we were learning of the July incident in November instead of five months ago and Fleming said there were delays with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the courts. When we asked why that would delay his reporting his DUI to the board of supervisors or the public, Fleming did not have an answer, but he did agree to sit down for a follow-up interview next week.
The county's leader was not booked into the Fresno County Jail following his arrest. He was cited and released at the scene since there was another driver in his car who could legally drive him home. Fresno Police issued him a criminal Notice to Appear in court since his two violations were both misdemeanor offense. A Notice to Appear is where an arresting officer does not take a suspect into physical custody. They are no less serious in weight than a traditional arrest and booking, simply less burdensome than spending time in jail. A criminal Notice to Appear is commonly referred to as a written arrest.
Fleming, however, did not appear in person for his Fresno County arraignment in front of Judge Timothy Kams last month. Appearing on behalf of Fleming was attorney Antonio Ramon Alvarez of Richard A Ciummo & Associates, the contracted public defender firm for the County of Madera. Fleming hired Alvarez as his private attorney outside of the county contract.
Fleming is facing two misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher. California law considers these to constitute two separate misdemeanor offenses. According to the court records Fleming has pled not guilty to both counts.
