San Rafael Man Busted for DUI Twice in One Day

By Jessica Mullins

A 71-year-old San Rafael man was booked into Marin County Jail twice on Thursday — once early in the morning and again roughly 12 hours later in the afternoon — for drunk driving.

Early Thursday morning, authorities were told to be on the lookout for an “errant driver” near Marinwood who appeared to be intoxicated. As a Marin County Sheriff deputy approached a vehicle matching the "errant driver" description in a Marinwood Avenue parking lot, the driver left the lot by driving over a raised curb, crossing a sidewalk and driving off the curb onto the street.

The deputy stopped the vehicle and contacted Gary Arnone, who displayed signs of intoxication. California Highway Patrol officers arrived on the scene and conducted a DUI evaluation and Arnone was arrested and booked into Marin County Jail around 3 a.m. on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. 

Later on Thursday, around 2:37 p.m., Arnone was stopped again after California Highway Patrol officers were alerted of a possible intoxicated driver traveling on Highway 37 toward Marin. A CHP officer on a motorcycle contacted Arnone when he was traveling through Marinwood.

Arnone showed signs of intoxication and smelled like alcohol, according to California Highway Patrol officials. Arnone was booked into Marin County Jail again on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Andrew Barclay said officials encourage people to report drunk drivers.

“If you believe someone is driving while intoxicated please call 911 and relay the information to dispatchers,” he wrote in a media release. “The best information we can get is color and make of vehicle, license plate, and direction of travel.”

Also, Barclay said they don’t want people to continue to follow a vehicle after they call it in.

“We want everyone to be safe while they are driving and do not want to encourage people to place themselves in harms way to continue to follow an erratic driver,” he said. “The best thing to do is be a good witness!”