Yavapai County judge is arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI
Yavapai County Superior Court officials were continuing to gather information on Tuesday about Judge Celé Hancock’s arrest on suspicion of extreme DUI last weekend.
Prescott police said Hancock was arrested Sunday after they got a call about a possibly impaired driver.
Hancock showed signs of alcohol consumption and failed several sobriety tests, according to police.
They said breath tests showed Hancock initially had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.158% with later tests at 0.219% and 0.214% — all far above Arizona’s DUI threshold of 0.08% for drivers.
State law defines extreme DUI for drivers who have a blood-alcohol content of 0.15% or higher.
Police said Hancock was cited and later released.
The citation obtained by The Arizona Republic shows Hancock was stopped at 6:18 p.m. in her white 2023 Toyota 4Runner near South Montezuma and West Carleton streets in Prescott. The citation shows Hancock was driving 25 mph, the posted speed limit.
The citation does not indicate if Hancock was either fingerprinted or taken into custody.
A Prescott resident who turns 45 this month, Hancock was first elected to the bench in 2010.
A call by the Associated Press to Hancock’s office Tuesday for comment on her arrest was redirected to court officials.
“The court has a duty to obtain as much information as possible about any criminal allegations related to its personnel,” Deputy Court Administrator Julie Malinowski said in a statement. “This process is no different for judges. We have begun gathering information.”
Hancock is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. April 12 at the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, according to the citation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Yavapai County Judge Celé Hancock arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI
