Yavapai County judge is arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — Yavapai County Superior Court officials were continuing to gather information Tuesday about Judge Celé Hancock’s arrest on suspicion of extreme DUI last weekend.

Prescott police said Hancock was arrested Sunday afternoon after they got a call about a possibly impaired driver.

They said Hancock was parked outside a grocery store before driving off and was pulled over by a police officer.

Hancock showed signs of alcohol consumption and failed several sobriety tests, according to police.

They said breath tests showed Hancock initially had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.158% with later tests at 0.219% and 0.214% —all far above Arizona’s DUI threshold of 0.08% for drivers.

State law defines extreme DUI for drivers who have a blood-alcohol content of 0.15% or higher.

Police said Hancock was cited and later released. She has been licensed to practice law in Arizona since 1996 and was first elected to the Yavapai County bench in 2010.

A call to Hancock’s office Tuesday seeking comment on her arrest was redirected to court officials.

“The court has a duty to obtain as much information as possible about any criminal allegations related to its personnel,” Deputy Court Administrator Julie Malinowski said in a statement. “This process is no different for judges. We have begun gathering information.”