Wife of prosecutor in Paris Hilton case has arrest warrant

Font Size:
Default font size
Larger font size

buy this photo Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delagadillo answers questions regarding an accident involving his city-issued sports utility vehicle which his wife crashed in 2004, during a news conference at the City Attorney's office in Los Angeles Monday, June 18, 2007. Delgadillo said he takes full responsibility for his wife's accident and that he has issued a check to the city on Monday to pay for the repair bill. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

LOS ANGELES - The wife of the city's top prosecutor has an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear in court nine years ago on charges of driving without insurance, with a suspended license and in an unregistered car.

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo got Paris Hilton jailed for violating probation for driving with a suspended license, then condemned her early release. Now, he says he's embarrassed about the outstanding bench warrant for his wife, Michelle, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Rocky Delgadillo said he didn't know about it until this week and has urged his wife to remedy the situation.

"My wife is embarrassed about this, and I am embarrassed as well," he said.

The couple also has been chronically late in paying fines for at least five parking tickets in the last three years, the newspaper reported. One violation for parking in a red zone in December 2006 was not paid until the newspaper inquired about the tickets last month, by which time the $70 infraction had become a $174 fine with penalties.

A spokesman for Delgadillo said the city attorney's wife was responsible for all the parking tickets and delinquent payments.

The new developments were the latest driving-related issues to dog Delgadillo and his wife.

On Monday, Delgadillo apologized for keeping quiet about a 2004 accident in which his wife crashed his city-issued vehicle while driving on a suspended license. Delgadillo said he was reimbursing the city for the $1,222 repair.

The prosecutor has said Michelle Delgadillo's offenses are not comparable to those of Hilton, who is serving a 45-day sentence for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

In the latest disclosure, Michelle Delgadillo said she was "very embarrassed'' and was working to resolve the arrest warrant issue as soon as possible.

"I will do whatever the court instructs me to do. I apologize for any embarrassment this has caused my husband and family,'' she said in a statement to the newspaper. "It is completely my mistake.''

Michelle Delgadillo was cited by a California Highway Patrol officer on Aug. 1, 1998, in Santa Monica for allegedly driving with an expired Montana driver's license, the Times reported, citing court documents.

The citation - issued two weeks before she married Delgadillo and written under her maiden name, Namen - said the tan BMW 325 she was driving had expired tags and she had no proof of insurance.

The Santa Monica city attorney's office filed a three-count criminal case. When she did not appear in court a month later for her arraignment, a judge issued a $2,000 bench warrant, according to the newspaper.

The warrant remains active, according to officials with the Santa Monica city attorney's office.

Print Email

/entertainment
 
Sponsored by:

Chestnut Wins Hot Dog Eating Match, Again
Chestnut Wins Hot Dog Eating Match, Again
A 25-year-old California man has captured his third straight July Fourth hot-dog eating contest at Coney Island, an annual showcase for flamboyant hot dogging contestants eager to show they really are what they eat. (July 4)
Raw video: Emergency plane landing
Raw video: Emergency plane landing
A single-engine Cessna made an emergency landing on a gravel road southeast of Towanda on Friday.
Video: Pantagraph on Par: Weibring Golf Club at ISU
Video: Pantagraph on Par: Weibring Golf Club at ISU
Pantagraph on Par is a series highlighting the toughest golf holes in the area. In this installment, Pantagraph reporter Jim Benson takes on No. 16 at Illinois State University's Weibring Golf Club alongside club professional Laura Provost.
Video: Pantagraph on Par: Ironwood
Video: Pantagraph on Par: Ironwood
Pantagraph on Par is a series highlighting the toughest golf holes in the area. In the first installment, Pantagraph reporter Jim Benson takes on No. 16 at Ironwood alongside Ironwood pro Craig Onsrud.
Video: Pantagraph on Par: The Den at Fox Creek
Video: Pantagraph on Par: The Den at Fox Creek
Pantagraph on Par is a series highlighting the toughest golf holes in the area. In this installment, Pantagraph reporter Jim Benson takes on No. 6 at The Den at Fox Creek alongside Jason Wingate, Bloomington's superintendent of golf operations