San Francisco, CA –  San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced today that her office secured a conviction of Mellanie Vargas (24), of Antioch, after a trial by jury for driving under the influence in SOMA.  Ms. Vargas was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (VC 23152(a)) and driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or greater (VC 23152(b).

“Driving under the influence is dangerous and will not be tolerated in San Francisco,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.  “My office takes these cases seriously and will use every legal means available to ensure that those who choose to drink and drive are held accountable and face consequences.”

According to testimony and other evidence presented at trial, on October 21, 2023, after a night of drinking, dancing, and partying at the Halcyon Club in San Francisco Ms. Vargas attempted to drive herself and some friends home. Ms. Vargas was spotted by CHP after making an improper lane change (violation of CVC 21658(a)) resulting in an improper left turn in front of a taxi, which nearly caused a dangerous crash at the intersection of Eight Street and Harrison Street.  When asked to pull over, Ms. Vargas continued to drive until she was stopped on Bryant Street. Upon the stop, officers noticed signs of impairment which led them to conduct field sobriety tests. A breath alcohol measuring device revealed at the scene registered that Ms. Vargas had a blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit of 0.08%. 

The case against Ms. Vargas was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elliott Brooks, with assistance from paralegals Joshua Nickchen and Andres Hernandez-Ruano, and IT support from Ada Yu, Morris Moore, Leland Chang and Noaeh Pinaire.  

“Driving under the influence is a serious problem in our community and I want to thank the jury for recognizing that problem and holding Ms. Vargas accountable,” said Assistant District Attorney Elliott Brooks. “They took their time to look at each piece of evidence and assess credibility in the ways they were instructed to and ultimately found that the totality of the evidence resulted in one reasonable conclusion.” 

Ms. Vargas is currently out of custody.  She faces up to six months in county jail for her crimes. Sentencing is scheduled for May 3, 2024.  

Court Number: 23017300

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