Former Douglas commissioner pleads in DUI case

A former Douglas County commissioner has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge after prosecutors dismissed a charge of drunken driving because the test was insufficient, according to court documents.

Steven Weissinger, 45, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment Feb. 19 after Deputy District Attorney Matt Griffin filed a motion to dismiss the drunken driving charge. The DUI trial had been set for Wednesday.

In the motion, Griffin said despite Weissinger's demonstration of impairment based on field sobriety tests conducted by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper, the tests were "conducted improperly."

Weissinger, who at the time was awaiting trial on charges of embezzlement and was holding a seat with the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, was arrested in Carson City on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving Aug. 23.

Prior to taking Weissinger into custody, the trooper administered a series of tests designed to indicate if a person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

"The defendant did not walk the correct number of steps, used his arms for balance and did not touch heel to toe on two separate steps. This indicated to the trooper that the defendant was impaired," Griffin wrote in his motion to dismiss. "However, there is no mention of how high the defendant raised his arms for balance or of the distance between heel to toe."

Pursuant to NHP standards, a correct administration of the test requires the arms to be raised at least 6 inches from the driver's side and there must be at least a 1/2 inch space between the driver's heel and toe to indicate impairment.

"The defendant again raised his hands away from his sides and put his foot down on the count of 1000-27, which shows impairment," Griffin continued. "However it is unknown how far from his sides the defendant's hands were held or whether 30 seconds had passed when the defendant had put his leg down."

The NHP standard requires a driver to raise his foot for 30 seconds and if the 30 seconds expires before the suspect has counted to 1000-30, the test is to be terminated.

Griffin also noted Weissinger's preliminary breath test resulted in a reading of .088. At the time of his arrest, the legal limit was point .10. In October, Nevada adopted the new .08 legal limit.

"It wasn't one thing, it was cumulative things," said Griffin on Thursday.

Weissinger, who lives in the Gardnerville Ranchos, was elected in 1996 and re-elected in 2000. In September he stepped down as the board's chairman.

In June, Weissinger was arrested at Raley's Supermarket in South Lake Tahoe where he was a manager after video surveillance allegedly showed Weissinger putting a $100 bill in his pocket. Weissinger has said it was an accidental cash handling error. He pleaded no contest to two counts of embezzlement and was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

On the reckless endangerment charge, Judge Robey Willis sentenced Weissinger to a $500 fine and he is required to attend a victim impact panel in which surviving family of those who were killed in drunken driving accidents share their stories.

Contact F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.