54-year-old Katherine Morgan, who was serving as a dean and guidance counselor at Galileo High School, was taken into custody for driving under the influence of alcohol on 13th of April and was arraigned on Thursday on charges of intoxicated driving as well as child endangerment.
She pleaded not guilty and according to her attorney, none of them will comment on the case. She is summoned to court again on 24th of May.
After the incident happened at Palenque restaurant in Ignacio on 13th of April, Morgan called the police and said that someone has stolen her keys. The cops approached the location after some time and they communicated with Morgan in the parking lot. They came to know that she was asked to leave the restaurant because she was disturbing other customers as she was saying that her keys were stolen when she had the keys in her purse.
The cops observed signs of intoxication and they believed that she must be consuming alcohol, so they advised her to get a sober driver to get back home. They recommended her to hire someone to leave her home safely.
The cops were not able to take her into custody at the incident spot because they had insufficient proof that she was under the influence.
Under the public intoxication law, suspects who can’t take care of themselves or who are blocking the public ways can be taken into custody if they are behaving inappropriately due to intoxication.
After the police left the scene, Morgan was stood outside the restaurant and acted as if she was waiting for a sober driver. The cops kept an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t get behind the wheel and make herself or others unsafe on the road. After a few minutes, she sat in the vehicle and drove away.
Her vehicle was pulled over by the cops near the intersection Nave Drive and Bel Marin Keys Boulevard to check the driver for intoxication. 2 kids were riding in the back seat of the vehicle. The cops gave her a field sobriety test which she failed. They took her into custody and sent her to Marin County Jail on suspicion of:
- DUI
- Child endangerment
- Drunkenness in the presence of minors
Her case is under review and she was released from jail.
Back in 2014, she joined the San Francisco Unified School District and served as counselor in the Tamalpais Union High School District for 3 years.
News Source: www.mercurynews.com
