DUI checkpoint yields a handful of arrests

A weekend DUI checkpoint in Costa Mesa netted several suspects, including arrests for drugs and driving under the influence, police said.

During the Saturday checkpoint on Newport Boulevard at Flower Street, 2,400 vehicles passed through the checkpoint with more than 460 being stopped by officers. Of those, police pulled 25 aside for closer scrutiny.

Police ended up arresting two people on suspicion of driving under the influence, one person for possession of marijuana, three for driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license, and one for not having a license. More than a dozen others were given tickets for various violations, police said.

The checkpoint is one of several police will conduct in the coming months, thanks to a grant from the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. Police are scheduled to conduct another checkpoint in December, officials said.

— Joseph Serna