BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Ed Jagels, the top law enforcement officer in Kern County for nearly three decades until his retirement in 2010, was arrested Monday on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said.
Jagels, 77, was arrested at about 4:35 p.m. in the 6000 block of Stockdale Highway, according to a police spokesperson. He was booked into jail shortly before 7 p.m. on two misdemeanor DUI counts, with a tentative court date set for Wednesday.
Bail was set at $10,000.
No other details were immediately available.
Just weeks ago, Jagels was back in the D.A.’s offices at 1215 Truxtun Ave. to celebrate the dedication of the press room that bears his name.
Elected district attorney in 1982, Jagels served seven terms for 28 years — making him the state’s longest serving DA.
His tough on crime policies earned many admirers — but also led to accusations of abuse and wrongful convictions.
Most notably, he prosecuted dozens of people in the 1980s on allegations of child molestation committed by reputed pedophile groups that engaged in satanic rituals.
All but one of the convictions were overturned and the county paid out millions of dollars in settlements after the accusers — children at the time of the prosecutions — came forward and said they were pressured by investigators to lie.
As reported by the Associated Press upon his retirement, Jagels “cut a wide swath through California politics in the past 30 years, leading a voter-driven campaign that unseated three liberal justices from the state Supreme Court and fighting for California’s stringent three-strikes law.”
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