Warrant Issued for City Councilman

A Northern California judge has issued an arrest warrant for Fountain Valley Councilman James D. Petrikin, who failed to appear in court Thursday on drunk driving charges, court officials said.

Petrikin was expected to enter a plea to charges that he was intoxicated when a CHP officer pulled him over Nov. 4 in Lodi, said James Willett, assistant district attorney in San Joaquin County. The councilman’s alleged blood alcohol level was 0.33, about four times the legal limit.

Petrikin said he has been hospitalized since Dec. 17 and has undergone hip replacement surgery. “My doctor already wrote them a letter and told them I was in the hospital,” he said Friday from a Los Angeles hospital. “Apparently it got lost. My doctor, his secretary, is writing another letter now. It’s a mistake.”

This is the second missed arraignment on the charge. Petrikin was scheduled to appear Dec. 4 but was excused with a doctor’s note.