Paris Hilton arrested in Hollywood on suspicion of drunken driving

By: ROBERT PERKINS - North County Times wire services | Thursday, September 7, 2006 11:45 AM PDT ∞

HOLLYWOOD - Paris Hilton was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Hollywood today, police said.

The 25-year-old socialite was pulled over near Selma and Wilcox avenues just before 12:30 a.m., said Lt. Russell Wong of the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Station.

LAPD Officer Martha Garcia of the Media Relations office said motorcycle officers saw a Mercedes-Benz being driven "erratically" and stopped the vehicle, which was being driven by Hilton.

"The driver was accompanied by a female friend," Garcia said. "After conducting a field investigation, Paris Hilton was arrested for DUI and booked at the Hollywood Station. The passenger appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, so the car was impounded. Hilton was released on her own recognizance, which is the normal procedure for most misdemeanor arrests."

Garcia said police would not release the booking photo of Hilton.

TMZ.com reported that a Breathalyzer measured Hilton's blood-alcohol at .08 percent, the state's threshold for being charged with drunken driving.

Publicist Elliot Mintz, who picked up his client early today, said Hilton had just one drink at the end of a long day.

"It's the absolute minimum amount of alcohol in your system that would justify an arrest," he said.

Hilton's day started at 4:30 a.m. yesterday, for the second day of a music video shoot for her recently released album "Paris," Mintz said. In the evening, she went to a charity event in Hollywood, a US Weekly magazine party and a nightclub and had a single drink -- a margarita -- without having eaten dinner, according to TMZ.com and Mintz.

Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, was in Hilton's Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren when it was stopped, according to TMZ.com and Mintz.

Police spotted Hilton driving erratically, Wong said. When she was pulled over and she displayed "objective symptoms of alcohol intoxication," Wong said.

A field sobriety test was given, and Hilton failed it, Wong said.

Hilton was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving at the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Station.

After booking, Hilton was released early today to the custody of her sister, Nicky; Nicky's boyfriend Kevin Connolly, and Mintz.

Mintz said Hilton, who went home and went to bed, regretted the arrest and had not decided if she would contest the allegation until she spoke with her lawyers.

It was simply result of "one drink on an empty stomach after a full day's work," Mintz said, adding that "we don't take lightly matters of this nature."