Monica Youngblood
Monica Christina Youngblood is an American politician and a former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. She represented District 68 (northwest Albuquerque) from January 15, 2013 to January 15, 2019. During her three terms in the state legislature, she was known for being tough on crime, sponsoring legislation to bring back the death penalty and supporting tougher penalties for people suspected of driving under the influence. In 2018, she was convicted of aggravated driving under the influence. She lost her re-election bid shortly after. Drunk driving arrest. Monica Youngblood was arrested on May 20, 2018  at a sobriety checkpoint under suspicion of driving under the influence. According to police, Youngblood smelled of alcohol and her speech was slurred. She was placed under arrest after performing poorly on field sobriety tests and refusing to take a breathalyzer test. Youngblood made several statements regarding her position as a legislator to the arresting officers. She was recorded on tape telling police, "I literally fight for you guys." According to the New Mexico Governmental Conduct Act, it is a criminal offense for public officials to use their offices to obtain personal benefits. The state attorney general, Hector Balderas, announced  that his office would investigate whether Youngblood illegally used her official position in an attempt to influence police during her arrest. As a legislator, she had been a vocal supporter of harsher DUI penalties. She also introduced legislation to bring Lyft and Uber to New Mexico, due to the drunk driving problem in the state. Youngblood maintained her innocence and requested a jury trial, which was denied by the judge. After a bench trial which lasted nearly four hours, she was found guilty of aggravated drunken driving. She was represented in court by Paul Kennedy, a former justice of the  New Mexico Supreme Court. She was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail (with credit for one day served), in addition to one year of probation, mandatory use of an ignition interlock for one year, attendance at DUI school, completion of 24 hours of community service and payment of court costs and fees.