MTD Driver Pleads Guilty to DUI

A driver for the Metropolitan Transit District who allegedly drove a bus under the influence of alcohol pleaded guilty to one DUI count in late January.

Authorities received an anonymous phone call the morning of August 7, 2009, alerting officers to potential misconduct by driver Brenda Juarez. Juarez’s bus was tracked down in the first block of West Carrillo, and she was eventually taken to the Police Department, where she was cited and released for DUI. The 43-year-old Goleta resident, who allegedly had a blood-alcohol level of .09, was eventually charged with three counts: DUI, DUI of a commercial vehicle with a blood-alcohol level in excess of .04, and DUI with a blood-alcohol level in excess of .08.

She eventually pleaded guilty to the first charge and the others were dismissed. Juarez was placed on three years probation, must pay a fine, and enter a three-month program at Zona Seca. According to an MTD spokesperson, she is no longer employed at MTD.