Colusa mayor arrested

By Howard Yune/Appeal-Democrat

Less than a week into his tenure, the new Colusa mayor has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Williams police detained Thomas P. Reische after a traffic stop at 12:14 a.m. Saturday, according a booking report from the Colusa County Jail.

The incident happened less than four days after the Colusa City Council appointed their 47-year-old colleague as mayor, replacing John A. Rogers.

An officer stopped Reische's 2006 Chevrolet pickup after seeing it drift from its lane on Highway 20 west of San Jose Road, east of downtown Williams, said police Chief Jim Saso, who said Reische earlier had gone to Granzella's, a Williams restaurant and bar. The restaurant was the site of a farewell party Friday night for a transferred California Highway Patrol officer, according to Rogers.

Four breath tests - two at the scene and two more at the county jail - each turned up a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit for driving, Saso said.

Reische was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence and booked at the Colusa jail. He was released on his own recognizance at 7 a.m., according to a booking officer.

“He was treated the same as anyone,” said Saso. “There was nothing out of the ordinary about this arrest except that he was an elected official.”

Reached at his home Monday evening, Reische declined comment, citing the advice of the city staff.

A former city planning commissioner, Reische won his City Council seat in 2002 and was voted to a second term in November. The Sutter native also has partly owned Messick Ace Hardware in downtown Colusa since 1993.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune can be reached at 749-4708. You may e-mail him at hyune@appeal-democrat.com.