The Sheriff's Department acted properly in firing a drug education deputy who drove after drinking alcohol and using marijuana, San Diego County officials ruled. The county Civil Service Commission on Wednesday upheld the firing of former Deputy Linda Hearn. Commissioner Mary Gwen Brummitt said Hearn's actions were "so serious that she cannot be reinstated."
Hearn was arrested in January by a California Highway Patrol officer who stopped her vehicle and reported that he smelled a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana.
Hearn's blood-alcohol level measured at .07 percent, below the legal threshold of .08 percent, but she failed a field sobriety test. Tests also detected a small amount of marijuana in her system.
Hearn was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $900 and ordered to complete an alcohol-education program.
A 15-year member of the Sheriff's Department, Hearn taught school children through the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. She was fired on May 24.
Hearn's attorney, Maury Mills, argued that Hearn used marijuana to ease nausea caused by painkilling medicine she took after dental surgery. He said she also was under pressure due to a number of personal problems.
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