Winkle Off Of Mesa City Council

The Mesa City Council, at a special meeting this morning, determined that Councilmember Ryan Winkle will forfeit the office of City Council effective immediately as a result of his DUI conviction.

In May, Winkle was arrested for DUI and subsequently pled guilty to extreme DUI.

After nearly three hours of testimony, based on all the evidence at the hearing, including the DUI arrest and conviction, Council voted unanimously that Winkle is no longer able to represent the residents of District 3 and the City of Mesa.

Winkle had a .220 BAC level at the time of his DUI arrest by a Tempe Police officer earlier this year. The arrest was his second DUI arrest.

“An Extreme DUI is based upon the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of the person accused; specifically, if the person has a BAC above .150, they will be charged with Extreme DUI under §28-1382 of the Arizona Revised Statutes,” according to a law firm that specializes in DUIs.

Tempe Police released the officer’s body camera footage during the arrest that occurred in the early morning of May 7. Winkle and his wife were pulled over near Baseline Road and Mill Avenue after an officer saw him nearly hit some young pedestrians, according to the police recording.

Winkle’s wife appeared to try to convince the officer not to arrest him based on her claim that he was the only Mesa City Council member that supports “you guys in the union.”

Winkle was issued a criminal citation for DUI.

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