Court issues $150,000 warrant for DUI suspect

By Neal Putnam

A $150,000 warrant remains outstanding for the arrest of a motorist who failed to show up in court on charges of drunk driving with injury and hit and run in a June 8 incident in which the a car slammed into a Ramona apartment building.

Charles Wayne Scott, 20, of Imperial, has not been arrested. El Cajon Superior Court Judge Charles Ervin issued the warrant on Oct. 11 after Scott failed to show up for a readiness conference.

Scott appeared at his arraignment on Sept. 5, and future court dates in October were set. He had been free on bond after charges were filed Aug. 15.

Scott and a female passenger were hospitalized after his 2005 silver Ford Focus was on La Brea Street and sideswiped a car in the parking lot of the Canyon Crest apartment building. The car struck two separate apartment units around 11:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of La Brea Street.

Before that, Scott allegedly committed a hit and run in the Kmart parking lot on Main Street and struck a sign on the southwest corner of La Brea and Day Streets. The hit and run charges are misdemeanors.

The DUI charge is a felony, but it does not describe what drug Scott may have taken. Stories at the time said Scott could have been under the influence of an inhalant. A court document says Scott previously has been charged with DUI.

A woman in one apartment kitchen was injured, but the charge doesn’t specify if the injury was to Scott’s passenger or the apartment dweller. The collision damaged the kitchens of two apartment units, but a county inspector later determined the building had no structural damage. The residents of both apartments were temporarily relocated to other units.