VALE – Three children and the wife of Ontario City Councilor Eddie Melendrez were riding in his car when he was pulled over and later arrested for driving under the influence for intoxicants early New Year’s Day according to an affidavit filed in the Malheur County Circuit Court.
Melendrez, driving a 2007 Buick La Crosse, was pulled over by a Malheur County Sheriff’s Office deputy at 1:15 a.m. Jan. 1 on Lagoon Drive in Vale.
Melendrez failed a field sobriety test and later registered a blood alcohol content of 0.12 when he was tested at the Malheur County Jail, according to the affidavit. The legal limit in Oregon is 0.08.
Along with driving under the influence of intoxicants, Melendrez is also charged with three counts of reckless endangerment because of the three children riding in his vehicle.
The driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless endangerment charges are all Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $6,250.
Melendrez was cited and released at the jail the morning of Jan. 1 and his arraignment is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, in the Malheur County Circuit Court.
Last week, Melendrez said in an interview that he made a poor decision New Year’s Eve.
“I messed up pretty bad. I am truly sorry and I take full ownership,” Melendrez said.
According to the sheriff’s office incident report, Melendrez drove off of 10th Street North and turned east on to Lagoon Drive and began to pick up speed. When deputy Shawn Rice activated his radar, he reported Melendrez’s vehicle reached “a speed of 38 mph in a posted 25 mph zone.”
“As the vehicle passed by me, I pulled to the shoulder and turned around, I observed the vehicle swerve to the right shoulder of the road just past the bridge,” wrote Rice.
Melendrez told Rice he “had five beers.” As Rice began to perform the field sobriety test, Melendrez told the deputy he drank “about two shots and five beers but no medications.”
Melendrez said he “got together with family” New Year’s Eve to celebrate his brother’s birthday. He said he planned to stay at his dad’s house if he drank too much.
“I stopped drinking about an hour before I left but made a mistake thinking I was OK when I wasn’t. I put others at risk. It was a poor decision on my end,” said Melendrez.
Melendrez is also an Ontario School Board member and was elected to the city council in 2020 and ran for mayor in 2022 and finished second.
Melendrez, 39, is also on the board of the nonprofit Community in Action in Ontario and works for the Oregon Food Bank.
“I pride myself on doing good and being a role model for youth and leading by example, I hold myself to a higher standard. I wish I could take it back,” said Melendrez.
Melendrez said he has no plans to resign from the school board or the city council.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
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