BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Evan Demestihas, former assistant chief with the Bakersfield Police Department, had a hearing Friday morning after being charged with driving under the influence. He is on administrative leave, the department confirmed.
Court records show Demestihas’ next hearing is scheduled Feb. 16. He’s charged with two counts of misdemeanor DUI. Charges were brought in August.
Defense lawyer Jeremy Brehmer appeared for Demestihas at an earlier hearing. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to court filings, a California Highway Patrol officer followed a black pickup around 2 a.m. on July 21 as it repeatedly veered into the bike lane while traveling in northwest Bakersfield. The officer activated his lights and followed the truck until it parked in a driveway on Greenhaven Street.
The officer said he approached the pickup as the driver, Demestihas, opened his door. The officer smelled alcohol and Demestihas admitted to drinking a glass of wine and two to three beers, according to the filings.
Demestihas refused to perform field sobriety tests, the documents said.
“Demestihas related he had multiple physical impairments, suffers from several injuries and is taking multiple medications,” the filings say. “Demestihas also related he’s had 3-4 concussions in his lifetime and bumped his head a week ago during flag football.”
Breath tests taken at 2:27 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. revealed blood-alcohol content readings of 0.11%, above the state legal limit of 0.08%, the filings say.
Demestihas was cited and released, according to the reports.
Demestihas was an assistant chief in 2019 when investigated after an altercation with his then-wife outside the V.I.P. Lounge on California Avenue. Both had visible injury, prosecutors said, but charges weren’t filed after the woman denied being the victim of a crime and there was no evidence as to who instigated the fight or what kind of “physical aggression” occurred.
Demestihas was fired but got his job back after the dismissal went to the Police Civil Service Commission, which ruled against the City of Bakersfield. Demestihas was then demoted to lieutenant.
In November, Demestihas filed a lawsuit alleging he was forced out of law enforcement because he cooperated with the Attorney General’s Office investigation of a deadly shooting by the son of then-Bakersfield Police Chief Lyle Martin.
In the suit, Demestihas says he was served with a memo after the Civil Service hearing informing him he was stripped of all law enforcement powers and forbidden from identifying himself as a police officer or going to the police station. A hearing on the suit is scheduled in March.
