Former Riverside Police Chief Russ Leach pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol after he crashed his city-owned vehicle last month.
Leach was sentenced to 30 days of home detention during which he will have to wear an electronic monitoring device, the Riverside County district attorney’s office said.
Leach was also sentenced to three years of probation and was ordered to attend an alcohol-abuse class for six months, said John Hall, a district attorney spokesman.
Leach, who also will have to pay about $1,700 in court fees and fines, has until August to complete his 30-day detention.
The plea was entered by Leach’s attorney during arraignment in Riverside Superior Court.
Leach had four drinks at his homeon Super Bowl Sunday before going to a strip club in Colton, where he had at least seven more. At the time, he was taking prescription pain medication.
As he drove his car, Leach plowed into an object and kept driving for about another mile.
Riverside police officers who responded to the incident said they knew Leach had been drinking but did not file charges.The Riverside Police Department has launched an investigation of the officers’ actions.
— Robert J. Lopez
Photo: Russ Leach. Credit: Los Angeles Times.