An effort by authorities to bury a particularly egregious hit-and-run incident that occurred in Chino on July 26 has generated outrage among both members of the public and at least two junior members of the Chino Police Department that is in danger of escalating into a full-blown scandal.
The matter involved no fewer than eight members of the Chino and Pomona police departments, including a watch commander and at least one other member of the Chino Police Department’s command echelon.
Details are sketchy, but this much has been disclosed to the Sentinel: An inebriated driver, one whose blood alcohol level exceeded more than three-and-a-half times that of the legal limit of .08, was approaching the intersection of Monte Vista and Schaefer avenues at around 8:16 p.m. on July 26 when he slammed his Chevrolet Silverado pickup into the back of a stationary vehicle.
The driver of the Silverado then sped from the scene of the accident south on Monte Vista, careening into another vehicle, sideswiping it. That car was forced from the road and collided with a tree. The driver of the Silverdo accelerated south on Monte Vista but lost control, jumped a curb, hit a fire hydrant and then came to a stop upon hitting a tree. When Chino police officers arrived at the scene at 8:19 p.m., they found the driver concussed and semi-conscious and the Silverado disabled and badly damaged.
Shortly thereafter, the driver was identified as Richard Aguiar of Chino, a detective sergeant with the Pomona Police Department.
Aguiar was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment and observation. A test of his blood revealed he had a blood alcohol level of .299.
The handling of the case was given “special care,” according to two individuals close to the matter, meaning that the accident report and incident report were not processed through the department’s normal channels, and communication with the Pomona Police Department with regard to Aguiar was initiated prior to his having left the hospital and before Aguiar was booked or arrested. The recording of the department’s action relating to Aguiar, which straddled the delineations of a hold, detainment and arrest, was classified confidential for more than four weeks, such that the involved parties – the other motorists and passengers involved in the collisions with Aguiar – were deemed ineligible to obtain the report of the incident.
According to one individual involved in the matter, inquiries with regard to the suspension/delay of action regarding Aguiar were met by the explanation that there were circumstances in Aguiar’s life which made his atypical use of alcohol on July 26 understandable.
Ultimately, a report on the collisions was sent to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office more than a month-and-a-half after the incident, on September 15.
After a span of more than two months, yesterday, October 1, the district attorney’s office leveled five felony charges at Aguiar – two counts of VC23153(A)-F: driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs while causing bodily injury; two counts of VC23153(B)-F: driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or greater while causing bodily injury; and a single count of VC20001(B)(1)-F: hit and run resulting in death or injury, along with four felony VC23558-E: causing bodily injury or death sentencing enhancements. The case, under the number FWV26003394, has been assigned to Judge Zahara Arredondo in Department R10 at the West Valley Justice Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Aguiar’s first scheduled hearing on the matter is scheduled for November 12.
Both the Chino Police Department and the Pomona Police have withheld comment on the matter. Aguiar was not on duty as a police officer when the collision took place.