3 held in DUI sting

Jesus Rodriguez didn’t have to be in court until 3 p.m. Wednesday. But he was there before 1 p.m., and none of the law enforcement officers who were keeping an eye out for him saw him drive there.

But police knew the 31-year-old Tustin man was there, because when they began setting up their sting operation to catch repeat DUI-offenders driving away from court despite having their licenses were suspended, they recognized his truck.

So for the next few hours, Rodriguez’s Silverado was under Det. Bill Beverly’s surveillance.

Late Wednesday afternoon, 20 multiple-DUI offenders congregated at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center as part of their probation requirements. All have suspended licenses, authorities said.

But that didn’t stop Rodriguez and two other offenders from making the drive to the court Wednesday, police said. And when they illegally drove away, police say they were ready.

Police also arrested Pedro Espejel, 24, of Costa Mesa and Dai Tran, 32, of Costa Mesa on suspicion of driving with a suspended license.

“The purpose is to let them know law enforcement is always out there,” said Tony Sordello, regional coordinator for Southern California’s Office of Traffic Safety. “Our slogan, ‘Over the limit, under arrest,’ is something that we take seriously.”

Fifteen Newport Beach police and probation officers and traffic safety officials waited outside the court for more than three hours to see how these 20 accused repeat DUI offenders would get home. “Spotters,” like Beverly, staked out offenders’ cars in unmarked vehicles.

He wasn’t anywhere near the court, though, and the communication between officers had to be coordinated. Rodriguez parked his car almost a block away east, and didn’t walk directly to it through adjacent parking lots, police said. He headed east toward his car, but on the sidewalk, then north on Campus Drive before coming around west into the parking lot, according to police.

Investigators expected Rodriguez to head east toward the 405 freeway, so they had a marked police car waiting in a driveway hidden by construction near Dupont Drive. Rodriguez did exactly as they expected, police said, and he was arrested and his car was impounded for 30 days.

“We’re enforcing court orders. They all know they aren’t supposed to be driving. You can tell because one guy walked for a quarter-mile to his car,” said Lt. Steve Shulman, the traffic service division commander. “It requires a lot of manpower to do this, but it sends a message to the other hundreds in the program. It resonates that the enforcement is going on all the time.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.