Pot smoking toddler video leads to arrest

The parents of a 23-month-old child have been jailed after they were seen on a video giving what authorities say was a marijuana pipe to their toddler.

Melanie Felicia Soliz, 20, and Blake James Hightower, 24, both of Hesperia, were arrested for investigation of cruelty to a child, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. The toddler was taken by child protective services.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether the pipe was lit at the time it was given to the child.

Both Soliz, who is more than six months pregnant, and Hightower have medical marijuana cards, the department said.

The Sheriff’s Department received a call just after 8 a.m. Saturday from someone claiming to have evidence of a crime. That person provided a video of the parents giving the pot pipe to the child, the department said.

A deputy located and questioned Soliz and arrested her. She was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Hightower surrendered later at the Hesperia Police Department and was booked at the Victor Valley Jail, the department said. He was later transferred to the West Valley Detention Center.

Bail was set at $100,000 for each of them, the department said. They are scheduled to appear for a court hearing today in Victorville.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By STEVEN BARRIE
The Press-Enterprise

How much does it cost to get a DUI conviction?

Q: Retired Riverside City College professor Cecil Green was surprised to hear someone describe the cost of a DUI ticket as about $1,300 — and somebody else doubt it was that much.

“The ticket is bad enough,” Green said, but there are other related, less obvious, costs. “It would do the county and people a service if you’d explain the cost of a drinking-and-driving ticket.”

A: Most of the financial impact from a DUI stems from a conviction, though the arrest will cost even if a case ends in acquittal. It’s nearly impossible to predict the cost of a conviction because many factors — including insurance premiums and attorney’s fees — vary with the individual, location and circumstances.

Here’s an idea of the hit someone’s wallet could take if they’re arrested in the state on a DUI charge.

When arrested, a person’s driver’s license is confiscated, they’re jailed and their vehicle is impounded. The bond to get out of jail before trial costs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, according to Insurance Information Network of California. If one doesn’t have that, using a bail bondsman generally costs 10 percent of the total bond. To retrieve a car, one must pay the cost of towing it from the arrest site to the local impound lot and pay the storage fee. Together these will cost at least $250, according to the network. To get back a license at the end of the revocation period, one must pay a $125 reissue fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Court fees vary by jurisdiction. Legal websites say that hiring an attorney will cost from $500 to $10,000, depending on the case and the attorney.

Those who are convicted must pay a fine ($390 to $1,000), have their license suspended for six months and complete an anti-DUI education program at their expense. The classes cost $240 to $3,400 depending on the program and the number of offenses, according to www.shouse.law’s online guide to California DUI schools.

The DUI conviction won’t please auto insurance companies, which will raise premiums or drop coverage when one’s next renewal period comes up.

“A DUI is visible on your record for 10 years,” said Tim Gaspar, of Gaspar Insurance Services, Encino. It’s a major violation, and in California counts as two points on your driving record, he said.

Auto insurers use points to gauge how safe one’s driving is and how much to charge.

“Although the points fall off your record after three years, insurance companies do not return your good-driver discounts (typically 15 to 20 percent) until the 10 years are up,” said Gaspar, who added that a DUI will make a driver ineligible for some insurers.

Even someone with a previously perfect driving record may see their premium increase by at least 25 percent after a DUI, Gaspar said. If there is more than one vehicle or driver on a policy, the DUI can spike the rate for the whole policy, Gaspar said.

If dropped by an insurer, one must find new insurance, because the DUI conviction will require an SR-22 form, a California Proof of Insurance Certificate, with the DMV (the form costs $15 to $25).

The SR-22 means that if one drops insurance coverage, the DMV will invalidate the license.

DUI sentences vary from 96 hours to six months, depending on the number of convictions. The period of license suspension gets longer with additional convictions. An ignition interlock device could be installed to monitor a driver’s blood-alcohol level and prevent the car from starting if the level registers too high. If required, one must pay for the device’s installation ($50 to $200, according to ignitioninterlockdevice.org), monthly rental ($50 to $100 per month) and maintenance and data downloads.

It’s difficult to pinpoint how much a DUI conviction costs, but it’s likely to be far more than the $1,300 that Green’s acquaintance predicted.

By MAURA AMMENHEUSER
Special to The Press-Enterprise

Fire hydrants uprooted for valuable metal parts

A man dressed in an orange fluorescent vest showed up in a white utility truck, turned off water to a fire hydrant on the street and appeared to work on it.

What could be wrong with that?

Authorities now believe the man was a metal thief, hauling off entire 80- to 100-pound hydrants or cannibalizing them for their bronze and brass parts and selling them as scrap metal for about $1.60 a pound.

Replacing them can cost the public agencies between $1,000 to $1,800 each.

Since early April, 45 hydrants — 25 from one water agency — in San Bernardino and Riverside counties have been reported stolen or vandalized for their metal.

“When I heard about the incidents from our employees, I couldn’t believe it,” said Eldon Horst, general manager of the Jurupa Community Services District, which had 16 hydrants stolen or damaged since April 12.

On Wednesday a Riverside County man believed to be responsible for the brazen daytime thefts and vandalisms was jailed, said an investigator with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Brian Burian, 45, was taken into custody at his home in the Riverside County community of Rubidoux, west of Riverside, after the owner of a Colton scrap yard identified him as the person who sold him scrap metal, said Deputy Roger Young.

Young, who investigates metal thefts, said his inspection of the scrap metal determined it was from a dismantled fire hydrant.

A scrap yard can be charged with a felony for buying a fire hydrant or parts of one. But in this case, the parts had been cut up so as to make them nearly unrecognizable, Young said.

“A layman wouldn’t be able to tell it was a hydrant,” he said. “It was just pieces of brass and bronze.”

Burian is being held at West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of receiving stolen property. He is due in court this morning.

Young said employees of the West Valley Water District in the city of San Bernardino, which had at least 25 hydrants vandalized, played a crucial role in cracking the case by staking out an area plagued by thefts.

On Tuesday, employees followed a truck seen in the Agua Mansa area on the border between Riverside and San Bernardino counties to Burian’s home and notified Young.

“They did awesome work,” Young said. “Without their help it would have been hard to stop this guy.”

Young said West Valley officials estimated their losses at between $50,000 and $80,000.

Burian was arrested in connection with the San Bernardino incidents, Young said.

“I believe 100 percent that he’s involved in the Riverside County thefts as well,” Young said.

Lt. Art Gonzales said Thursday the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department was seeking an arrest warrant for Burian in connection with one of the thefts after he was identified by a witness. The investigation is continuing.

“He has not been ruled out in the other 19 incidents,” Gonzales said.

Water company officials in both counties said the person responsible had expertise in shutting off the water supply to the hydrant before removing it and hauling it away.

The Rubidoux Community Services District had three hydrants taken and a fourth vandalized for its metal parts, said Steve Appel, the assistant general manager.

Young said witnesses in the San Bernardino incidents reported that the man wore an orange fluorescent construction vest and drove a white utility truck.

Gonzales said a witness in one of the Riverside thefts told investigators that when he approached the man tampering with the hydrant, the man said he was refurbishing it.

Burian has multiple convictions in both counties for receiving stolen property, drug possession and burglary.

By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise