Nearly three weeks after being arrested and charged with driving under the influence following a July 25 car crash in Arlington, David Baker, former Alexandria chief of police, is scheduled to appear in Arlington District Court for pre-trial proceedings.

Baker was originally supposed to be arraigned on July 29, however his lawyer filed the necessary paperwork the day before, setting up this weeks court date. If no agreement with the Commonwealths Attorney has been reached by the pre-trial on Friday, then the court will set a date for full trial, court officials said.

Baker was charged with DUI more than two hours after the July 25 accident for which Baker was at fault and sent another driver to the hospital where she was treated for injuries and released. He recorded a 0.19 blood alcohol content level, more than twice the legal limit in Virginia.
If found guilty, Baker faces fines, loss of license and a minimum five-day jail sentence because his BAC was above 0.15.

Just three days after his arrest, Baker notified city officials of his decision to resign as police chief. The decision to conclude a more than 19-year career in the Alexandria Police Department also ended the citys internal investigation into the incident but did not provide information as to Bakers actions leading up to the Arlington crash.

The news of Bakers DUI arrest came as a surprise to city leaders, including Acting Police Chief Earl Cook, who had worked alongside Baker since the former chief joined the department and said hed never seen Baker drink more than a glass of wine in a social setting.