According to a recent story appearing on The Simi Valley Acorn website, Ventura County Public Information Officer Ashley Bautista was arrested over the weekend on the charge of DUI hit-and-run.
According to a statement by Ventura Police Department Commander Caliento, officers stopped the county official at approximately 9:00 p.m. on Friday, June 17, near Ocean and Seaward Avenues.
Police dispatchers received a call saying that as they were waiting at a traffic signal at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Paseo de Playa, their vehicle was rear-ended by Bautista’s vehicle. Rather than stopping and exchanging insurance information as the law requires, Bautista drove off.
There were no injuries reported in the collision.
A short time later, Bautista was found and pulled over by Ventura Police officers. Bautista, 40, was alone in her vehicle at the time.
After sobriety tests, they determined that Bautista was under the influence of alcohol, and she was arrested. Bautista was booked into Ventura County Jail just after midnight on Saturday, June 18. She was released later that day and ordered to appear in court on August 18.
County Assistant Public Information Officer Jackie Nuñez told reporters that Bautista resigned her position with the County on Tuesday, June 21. No further comment was made regarding the incident.
Bautista has been Ventura County’s Public Information Officer since January 2020. Before being hired as PCO for Ventura County, she worked as the communications manager for the City of Ventura for five years.
If convicted of the charges against her, Bautista faces a $1,00 fine and /or six months in jail.
