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Former Longtime TV Anchor Gets Sentenced To Jail For DUI, Battery Charges

A former longtime television news anchor in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties will be serving some time behind bars.

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office says Paula Lopez Ochoa was sentenced yesterday to 120 days in County Jail after pleading no contest to a number of charges including driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing a chemical test, resisting a police officer and battery.

The California Highway Patrol says in September of last year, Ochoa drove on the wrong side of Highway 101, west of Goleta, and then assaulted officers when they found her in a parking lot at Sandpiper Golf Course.

In addition to jail time, Ochoa must attend three Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week and consume no alcohol for three years. She will also remain on probation for three years.

Ochoa was a news anchor at KEYT in Santa Barbara and, more recently, an anchor for KCOY and KKFX.