Salt Lake City mayoral candidate booked into jail

A candidate for Salt Lake City mayor spent the weekend in jail, and if he serves out his sentence he'll be there months after the election has come and gone.

John Renteria, a perennial candidate for public office who has never won an election, was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on Friday on a violation of his probation from a previous traffic conviction.

Renteria pleaded guilty in November 2005 to one count of attempted failure to stop at an officer's command, a class A misdemeanor; one count of incorrectly positioned plates, a class B misdemeanor; and one count of failure to obey a traffic-control device, a class C misdemeanor.

He was sentenced to a year in jail, but the judge suspended that jail time and put Renteria on probation.

Renteria's attorney, Patrick Corum, said Renteria admitted to 3rd District Judge Sheila McCleve on Friday that he twice drove despite his license having been revoked and that he has drunk alcohol, both in violation of his probation.

Corum said McCleve has historically not allowed early release with ankle monitoring devices. Renteria could have his sentence reduced for good behavior, but he would still serve about nine months.

But Corum said he hopes Renteria can go before the judge again to plead his case in the near future.

"I'm very optimistic that we'll be able to get him out," Corum said.

He did not know how Renteria's arrest would affect his run for mayor.

"I've never talked to him about his candidacy," Corum said.

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