Fresno City Council candidate and Central Unified trustee Naindeep Singh was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of driving under the influence of a drug.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Singh, 48, was cited and released by Fresno police. Singh was not booked into the Fresno County jail, which a department spokesperson called “pretty standard practice for DUI.”
A Fresno police spokesperson refused to comment Monday morning.
“We are not providing any additional details on this one,” Sgt. Diana Vega said in an emailed response to Fresnoland questions on the circumstances of the arrest, probable cause, and signs of alleged intoxication.
It was not immediately clear why police remained silent on the alleged DUI arrest of a high-profile elected school official and city council candidate.
Singh has not commented on the arrest publically. His camp is expected to release a statement later today.
Singh’s supporters on Monday posted copies of what appeared to be toxicology reports showing Singh testing negative for both drugs and alcohol. At least one Singh supporter was already calling for the police to apologize for the arrest.
Fresno police did not immediately respond to questions about the reported toxicology results, except to say that they are pending.
And at least some were already questioning the timing of Singh’s arrest, with just days to go before voting ends next week in the ongoing midterm elections.
Fresno Unified Board President Veva Islas posted a statement and photo on Facebook which she said was taken Saturday night shortly before Singh’s arrest.
“This photo was taken on Saturday evening at Fern Fest in the Tower District. Pictured here are friends including Naindeep Singh. No one was drunk or under the influence of drugs,” Islas said in part. “I’ve known Deep for years. He is a man of faith and conviction. The recent story about him is a targeted attack because Deep is fighting for truth and justice and will expose corruption.”
Singh’s campaign for Fresno City Council’s District 1 seat has raised the most money among local candidates, including his opponent Rob Fuentes, whose campaign wasted little time releasing campaign ads criticizing Singh’s arrest.
A mass pro-Fuentes campaign text message on Monday morning called on Singh to quit the race.
Fresnoland reporter Gisselle Medina contributed to this story.
