David Hunt, Former Newport Beach City Attorney, Gets Probation, Fines for Drunk Crash

SAPD

​Former Newport Beach city attorney David Hunt was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to drunken driving and crashing into a parked car in September.

The 53-year-old Santa Ana resident also must pay restitution and $390 in fines and enter a three-month program for first-time alcohol offenders. The judge dismissed a second count of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more.

Newport Beach police arrested Hunt after the car was hit in a parking lot at the west end of Ford Road near Mesa View and Bonita Canyon Sports Park and five minutes from his new office at Friedman Stroffe & Gerard, P.C. law firm in Irvine. Hunt was not hurt, but the car he hit was damaged.

It was the former city official's second arrest in two years. Santa Ana police arrested him in March 2010 on suspicion of domestic violence in an altercation he had at home with his wife and son. The Newport Beach City Council placed Hunt on administrative leave as the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) conducted a felony spousal abuse investigation that resulted in no charges being filed. The City Council voted in June 2010 to allow Hunt to return to the City Attorney's office.

He retired in August of this year, but in late September he was re-hired as an outside consultant by the city. Councilwoman Leslie Daigle was the only member of the panel to oppose Hunt's rehiring, and she objected strongly, noting that his contract called for $120,000 per quarter, or $480,000 annually.

The lucrative consulting contract was nullified shortly after Hunt's second arrest.

Previous coverage:

• David Hunt, Ex-Newport Beach City Attorney-Turned-Highly Paid Consultant, Busted for DUI Wreck