Herzog's Arraignment Delayed 2 Weeks

Lake Forest city councilman Peter Herzog's first court appearance on drunken driving charges was rescheduled Thursday for later this month.

An attorney and former mayor, Herzog is now set to be arraigned March 28 at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach; he has been charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of having a blood-alcohol level exceeding .15 percent.

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Herzog, who served as Lake Forest's mayor for six one-year terms among his 19 years on the council, was charged Jan. 24 and could face up to six months in jail if convicted, according to Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office. He was arrested at home on Nov. 17 after motorists called sheriff's deputies to report he had been driving erratically, she said.

About 8:15 that night, it is alleged that Herzog made a left turn from Portola Parkway in Mission Viejo to Lake Forest Drive in Lake Forest on the wrong side of the road, then swerved over the center median to get back onto the westbound lanes, Emami said.

Herzog, 57, is also accused of making a too-wide left turn from Lake Forest Drive to Regency Lane, hitting the right side of the curb in the process, according to the District Attorney's Office. He allegedly veered into the opposite lane and weaved back and forth until he got home.

Investigators measured Herzog's blood-alcohol level as .18 percent, more than twice the legal limit, as of 10:30 p.m. the night he was arrested, according to prosecutors.

Deputy District Attorney Joe Koller is prosecuting this case.

—City News Service