Houston Chronical
June  1, 2001, 12:38AM
Bush twins get citations in alcohol-related case

By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA and BENNETT ROTH

AUSTIN -- Police cited the 19-year-old twin daughters of President Bush on Thursday on misdemeanor alcohol-related charges.

It was Jenna Bush's second alcohol-related brush with the law in two months, and Barbara Bush's first.

The Houston Chronicle also has learned the ticket could mark Jenna's third alcohol-related incident.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission confirmed Thursday that Jenna Bush is listed in its database for an alcohol-related on Dec. 31, 1997.

The database contains the names of people who have violated the Alcoholic Beverage Commission code, but commission officials would not say whether Jenna Bush's name appears for a citation, a warning or an administrative action. Nor would the commission release any other details about the incident because Jenna was a minor at the time.

But the 1997 incident occurred just months after the Texas Legislature passed and her father, who was then Texas governor, signed into law a package of bills that toughened the consequences for underaged drinkers. The legal drinking age in Texas is 21.

On Thursday, the girls were cited for attempting to buy alcohol at a popular Mexican restaurant in Austin.

Jenna Bush was ticketed for misrepresentation of age by a minor for allegedly using someone else's identification to order an alcoholic beverage. Barbara Bush was cited for possession of alcohol by a minor because she ordered and was served an alcoholic beverage, Austin police said.

Austin Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Chapman said the Bush daughters accepted the citations at the office of their attorney Thursday morning.

"We treated it just like it was a 19-year-old with the last name of Smith. We did what we do with everybody else," Chapman said.

A third woman, Jesse Day-Wickham, also was cited for possession of alcohol by a minor. Both offenses are Class C misdemeanors that carry a $500 fine and a 30-day suspension of a driver's license.

The Bush daughters were at Chuy's restaurant with three friends when they ordered the drinks, police said. The other two companions were male, but police did not identify them or say whether they were of the legal drinking age.

Chapman said the restaurant manager called 911 after bar patrons recognized Jenna Bush.

"People at the bar identified and told people at the bar, `You know we think this is Jenna Bush,' which got more spotlight than it normally would," Chapman said.

He said Jenna Bush ordered a drink and, when asked for identification, handed the waitress someone else's valid identification.

Barbara Bush was served a margarita, but police did not know how she obtained the drink. Chapman said the only ID officers saw was the one used by Jenna Bush.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer refused to comment on the incident and warned the media about asking questions about the first family's personal problems.

"I would urge all of you to very carefully think through how much you want to pursue this," Fleischer said. The spokesman said that "any reaction of the parents is parental; it is not governmental. It is family. It's private and the American people respect that."

He insisted the media did not need to know about how the president and his wife were dealing with the matter.

"The president views this as a family matter, a private matter, and he will treat it as such," Fleischer said. "I don't think it's appropriate for people to be told what was part of a private conversation that the president had with his 19-year-old daughter."

The White House reaction was in keeping with a long-standing policy of refusing to divulge personal conversations of President Bush, even those he has had on policy matters with his father, the former president.

Though the offenses are minor and carry no jail time, authorities could issue a warrant to arrest Jenna Bush for violating a court order she received May 16 on an unrelated underage drinking charge.

She was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol on April 27 by undercover Austin police officers who were part of a special unit that looks for underage drinkers in Sixth Street clubs.

Jenna Bush was ordered to serve eight hours of community service, take six hours of alcohol counseling and pay $51.25 in court costs.

The sentence could have been worse.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code calls for a 30-day suspension of a driver's license on a first offense, whether the defendant is convicted or there is a deferred disposition as there was in Jenna Bush's case.

Sgt. Randy Motz of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said the code does not allow the judge discretion on ordering the suspension.

"It's a `shall' provision in the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code," he said.

Austin Community Court Judge Elisabeth Earle, who issued the deferred order for Bush, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Now, with the second offense before her, Earle can order Bush to pay the $500 and suspend her driver's license for up to 90 days.

If arrested a third time, the offense is upgraded to a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a $2,000 fine and up to six months in jail.

If a ticket was issued in 1997, it would not count as a third offense under Texas law because Jenna Bush would have been a 16-year-old minor at the time.