Sparks Councilman's DUI Trial Scheduled to Resume in October

Bodycam footage was released during the DUI trial of Sparks City Councilman Joe Rodriguez yesterday as well as a photo of his black Chevy pickup truck with its front totally smashed up and crashed into a pole in Spanish Springs on February 21st at around 1:30 a.m., shortly after a social media photo had shown him smiling in the company of two Reno City council members Devon Reese and Miguel Martinez at a rodeo event at the Reno Events Center.

Reese then took off the photo and the Rodriguez tag on the post, never explaining why.

The bodycam shows Rodriguez saying he had several beverages, in what sounds like slurred words, with Rodriguez looking away. When asked again he says these were Michelob Ultra.

The crash took place on Pyramid Way a state highway and as Rodriguez was then State Fire Marshal and he is also a Sparks councilman, due to conflicts of interest with both Nevada Highway Patrol and Sparks PD who initially interacted with Rodriguez, a Washoe County sheriff’s deputy who was in the area had to be flagged down to take over the case.

The Sparks PD officer said Rodriguez appeared intoxicated based off his observations but a field sobriety test was not given after Rodriguez said he had back problems, bad hips and some neck pain. After a warrant was granted, Rodriguez’s blood did reportedly get drawn at the hospital starting at 3:30 a.m.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety announced the termination of Rodriguez as state fire marshal effective Feb. 25th, saying it was “committed to professionalism, accountability and the continued delivery of services to Nevada’s communities and partner agencies.”

At Sparks council meetings we watched after the crash, there was no comment about what had happened.

The trial started yesterday but couldn’t be completed and is now scheduled to resume October 7th. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty.

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