Paula Lopez Ochoa, news anchor at Santa Barbara CBS affiliate KCOY, was arrested Sunday night on charges of driving under the influence, assault of a police officer and resisting arrest.
According to KEYT, California Highway Patrol officers received a call of a car, described as a Toyota Prius, driving the wrong way on a state highway:
The CHP report said an officer determined Ochoa was the driver of the Prius and “the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time.” The report also said “the driver assaulted a Santa Barbara County Sheriff Deputy and a CHP Officer during the arrest.”
Advertisement
Ochoa was reported missing by her family in 2013, and later arrested for public intoxication.
Ochoa, who is known as Paula Lopez, later described the incidents as part of a difficult recovery from alcoholism:
“I have dealt with anxiety and depression for many years. Excessive self-medication is a fairly recent phenomenon for me. It has increased over time. I have had substantial periods of abstinence and sobriety.”