City attorney pleads not guilty to DUI

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003 | 10:50 a.m.

David Olsen, the city attorney for Boulder City, had a blood-alcohol level that was barely over the legal limit of 0.10 when he was arrested on a drunken driving charge in September, a Clark County prosecutor told a Justice of the Peace this morning.

In a hearing before Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis, Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson said Olsen's blood alcohol level was 0.11 when he was tested after his Sept. 15 arrest on drunken driving charges.

Olsen's blood alcohol level was 0.10 when it was tested a second time, Nelson said.

Nevada's new DUI law, which lowered the legal blood alcohol limit to 0.08 from 0.10, had not taken effect when Olsen, 54, was arrested, Nelson said.

That law went into effect on Sept. 23.

Because the Breathalyzer test contains a small margin of error, Olsen potentially could have been below the 0.10 legal limit when he was arrested, Nelson said.

"Had the 0.08 law been in effect, it certainly would have been a much stronger case for us," he said.

Olsen, who attended the hearing with his attorney, Dawn Lozano, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge during the brief hearing this morning. A trial before Lippis was set for March 30.

Olsen did not talk to reporters this morning but has said that he was not under the influence and that he intends to fight the charge.

Nelson said, "The case may still be negotiated."

Police pulled Olsen over as he drove his 2001 Yamaha Road Star motorcycle near New Mexico Street about 1 a.m. Olsen's wife was riding on the back of the motorcycle. The two were headed to a concert and motorcycle festival on Fremont Street.

Police reportedly stopped Olsen for failing to stay in his lane near the part of the road where it thins from two lanes to one for traffic heading into downtown.

Olsen also was cited for failure to maintain travel lane and operating a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement, which means he had not taken driving and written tests to drive a motorcycle. The penalty for both offenses are fines.

Because the DUI charge is a misdemeanor, Olsen will head straight to trial without a preliminary hearing, Nelson said.