Christmas Parade crash suspect denied bail reduction

MELANIE NGUYEN, The Bakersfield Californian
·2 min read

The man suspected of crashing into a crowd of people minutes before the annual Bakersfield Christmas Parade was denied a bail reduction for his felony case Wednesday in Kern County Superior Court.

Alan Lewis Booth, 73, is being held without bail, according to Kristin Davis, the public information officer for the courts.

He is charged with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two DUI counts and one count of obstructing or resisting a peace officer after he was suspected of driving drunk at 21st and H streets on Dec. 7.

According to the Bakersfield Police Department report, Booth crashed into a crowd of people before the Christmas parade and was suspected of drunk driving. Booth hit three people, a father and son pair ages 42 and 21, respectively, and Arnold Rios, 77. According to the police report, another person was injured when the person jumped out of the way of Booth’s Ford F-150 truck.

Booth had a blood alcohol level of 0.25% at the December crash, according to the BPD report.

Booth’s defense attorney, Jeremy Brehmer, entered not guilty pleas on Booth’s behalf at his January arraignment. At the January arraignment, Booth was not in the custody of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.

Booth was then arrested in April on suspicion of a DUI at the Jim Burke Ford dealership, according to the BPD report. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.24% on April 17 while he was at the dealership, BPD reported.

He was then charged with a misdemeanor case count of driving under the influence of alcohol, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol level that exceeded 0.08% and one count of driving with a suspended license. On April 19, Booth pleaded not guilty to all charges.

At the April arraignment, Booth appeared in court in KCSO custody and the judge decided to hold Booth without bail.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Joseph Soldani upheld that ruling, Davis said.

Booth’s next hearing is scheduled for May 30, for a pre-preliminary hearing for his felony case and a pretrial conference for the misdemeanor case.