Marion Co. Dist. Attorney’s Office – 02/02/23 3:57 PM
For Immediate Release on February 2, 2023
On January 30, 2023, Marion County Circuit Court, Judge Sean E. Armstrong, sentenced Luis Pineda-Castro to 364 days in the Marion jail after pleading guilty to five separate counts of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII).
Mr. Pineda-Castro was also sentenced to five years of probation. The terms of his probation include requirements that he enter into and successfully complete an alcohol treatment program, and that he must attend a Victim Impact Panel where he will hear from individuals whose lives have been adversely impacted by drunk drivers. Additionally, Mr. Pineda-Castro is prohibited from using or possessing any alcohol or controlled substances, and he cannot enter any bars or taverns. Should Mr. Pineda-Castro be found in violation of the terms of his probation, he faces an additional 364 days of jail. Judge Armstrong also suspended Mr. Pineda-Castro’s Oregon driver’s license for life.
The five counts of DUII spanned from 2018 to 2022. In Oregon, a person is presumptively guilty of DUII if they are found to be driving with .08% blood alcohol content (BAC). In his five DUII incidents, Mr. Pineda-Castro’s BAC tested in a range of .18% to .31%.
Mr. Pineda-Castro evaded the court system for four years by being arrested for DUII, given a release agreement and a court date, and then failing to appear at his court dates. He failed to appear in court nine times while his cases remained open. From 2018 through 2021, he was cited four times for DUII. In 2022, his latest incident of DUII, he was held on bail Marion County with a public safety override, the reason being he was as an extreme risk to the community and people on the roads.
