The following is a social media post by the Willits Police Department. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
During the wee hours of last night, Officer Basurto was parked on the side of the road, with his emergency lights activated dealing with a subject that had three outstanding warrants for his arrest. Officer Basurto was rear-ended while sitting inside his patrol vehicle by Joshua Stephenson (34, not from the area). While our officer is okay, Stephenson admitted to consuming alcohol, and after a DUI investigation by Sgt. Gray, was found to have a 0.24% BAC. This is three times the legal limit. Stephenson was arrested for multiple DUI related charges and booked into the Mendocino County Correctional Facility. A dog which was passenger in Stephenson’s van was uninjured and held by WPD until turned over to Mendocino County Animal Control.
Patrol Unit 258 had only been in full service for approximately three weeks prior to the collision.
WPD would like to thank the California Highway Patrol for assisting with the collision investigation
