Supervisors candidate charged with hit-and-run

A contender for a San Joaquin Board of Supervisors seat next year was charged Thursday with a misdemeanor hit-and-run after allegedly crashing into three parked cars and fleeing the scene.

Christopher Rouppet – top aide to District 1 Supervisor Miguel Villapudua – wasn’t present at the brief 9 a.m. arraignment at superior court in downtown Stockton.

He faces one charge of hit-and-run driving resulting in property damage stemming from the Sept. 29 crash.

Around 9:40 p.m. that Friday, Rouppet was driving on Sonoma Avenue west of Delaware Avenue, in the Country Club neighborhood, when he crashed into a Chrysler 300 and two Toyota Avalons parked near the curb, California Highway Patrol spokesman Ruben Jones said.

An incident report states that Rouppet crashed due to an “unsafe turning movement,” Jones said.

A total of the damage hasn't been presented in court documents.

The report showed the vehicles’ bumpers were damaged and the Chrysler’s left headlight was smashed, Jones said. The front bumper, fender and hood of Rouppet’s Mazda were crushed, the report added.

Rouppet left the car at the scene, the report states.

That night, CHP officers outside Rouppet’s home reported hearing a loud bang and someone repeating expletives before seeing Rouppet go inside the house, Jones said.

For about an hour, the officers verbally ordered Rouppet to come outside, with no success, they said.

The next day, when officers were able to contact Rouppet, he said he’d suffered a severe head injury in the wreck, Jones said.

Rouppet's attorney, Armando Villapudua, batted down speculation of a DUI or drugs being a factor.

A restaurant receipt from the night of the crash shows no record of Rouppet buying alcoholic drinks, Villapudua said.

"He's not trying to elude a DUI or anything like that," he said.

Rouppet went to the hospital right after the incident and was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, the attorney added.

According to his campaign website, Rouppet is competing for a seat on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors next spring.

The aide says he’d prioritize "keeping our neighborhoods safe for our kids” through youth programs, as well as addressing the homelessness and housing insecurity crises.

Before serving for seven years as Miguel Villapudua’s chief of staff, Rouppet worked for two decades for Coca-Cola, his campaign site states. He was also a Teamsters Local 439 member and shop steward, it says.

Rouppet hasn’t indicated which of the three Board of Supervisors seats up for grabs next election he plans to run for. But it’s possible the Stockton native will seek to represent District 1, which encompasses most of the city.

Villapudua will hit his two-term limit for the seat next year. The deadline to officially declare candidacy for a board seat is Monday.

Rouppet isn’t the only local candidate running in 2024 who’s been accused of dangerous driving. In 2019, District 3 Supervisor Tom Patti was charged by the California Attorney General’s office with drunken driving and refusing to take a drug test.

The charges arose from a collision the supervisor was involved in during his second term in office. In July 2018, Patti was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV on I-5 in Lathrop when he hit with two other vehicles, according to the CHP.

Patti claimed he was having an adverse reaction to a prescription drug when the wreck occurred. The case was disposed in August 2021, online court records show.

The supervisor’s attorney was Gilbert Somera, now law partner to Rouppet’s lawyer, Armando Villapudua. Somera could not immediately be reached for comment on how the case concluded.

Now, Patti is pursuing a run for mayor of Stockton, city records show.

Criminal convictions – including for hit-and-run and DUI charges – don’t appear to disqualify a run for Stockton City Council, mayor, or the board of supervisors, according to city and county candidate guidelines.

Rouppet’s case will return to court Dec. 6.

"We charge strictly just based on the facts. Not who the defendant is, not how famous they are, not on ... what standard they're held to within the public," Lee Neves, a spokesman for District Attorney Ron Freitas, said.

"There's no bias that influences the charges at all, it strictly is fact-based," he said.

"As far as what standard people in elected (office) are held to, that's obviously up to the voters."

No evidence has yet been presented in court against Rouppet at this stage.

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Supervisors candidate charged with hit-and-run