DUI Attorney in Lomita

Reviewed by Ron Chini, Esq. · CA State Bar No. 263308 · DUI defense attorney in Irvine, CA since 2009.
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How DUIs are policed in Lomita

Lomita, unlike most of its South Bay neighbors, does not run its own police department. The city contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and patrol is handled out of the Lomita Sheriff's Station, 26123 S. Narbonne Ave, Lomita, CA 90717 — a station that also covers Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, and the unincorporated Palos Verdes Peninsula-area communities.

A DUI stop on surface streets inside Lomita — Pacific Coast Highway, Narbonne Avenue, Lomita Boulevard, or Western Avenue — is typically made by a Lomita Station deputy. The California Highway Patrol's South Los Angeles office (19700 Hamilton Ave, Torrance) patrols the surrounding freeway and highway corridors serving Torrance, Carson, Gardena, Redondo Beach, and Rancho Palos Verdes, and can also be the arresting agency for a DUI stop made on a highway segment running through or near Lomita.

• Lomita Sheriff's Station (LASD, contract city): (310) 539-1661
• CHP South Los Angeles: (424) 551-4000

Where a Lomita DUI case is heard

Whether the arrest is made by a Lomita Station deputy or CHP, a Lomita DUI case is filed and heard at the Torrance Courthouse. The Los Angeles County court system assigns Torrance jurisdiction over Lomita along with Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, and the part of Torrance west of Western Ave.

Booking and getting a car back after a Lomita arrest

A DUI arrest made by a Lomita Station deputy is first processed at the station on Narbonne Avenue. As with other LA County Sheriff's contract-city arrests, the station jail is a short-term holding point, not a long-term facility: adult male arrestees are typically transferred downtown for booking through the Inmate Reception Center (serving Men's Central Jail / Twin Towers Correctional Facility), while female arrestees are generally booked at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood. Exactly where a specific arrestee is held and when they can be released (own recognizance, bail, or citation) depends on the facts of the arrest — our office helps families locate a client in custody and get them out as quickly as possible.

A car towed or impounded from a Lomita stop is usually released from the tow yard the deputy or officer designates on the scene; bring photo ID, proof of ownership/registration, and insurance, and expect to pay towing and storage fees.

Lomita: the "Friendly City" — not a beach town

Lomita is one of the smallest cities in the South Bay — about 20,400 residents packed into roughly 1.9 square miles — and it has long branded itself "The Friendly City." Unlike Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, or even its immediate neighbor Rancho Palos Verdes, Lomita does not touch the ocean; it's a landlocked, working-class residential community wedged between Torrance, Harbor City, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula cities. Its best-known landmark is the Lomita Railroad Museum, a replica 19th-century depot built in 1966 that houses a full-size steam locomotive, tender, and caboose. A DUI defense built for a Lomita client should start from that reality — a small, close-knit, non-coastal community policed by a Sheriff's contract station — not a generic South Bay beach-town script.

Lomita's size shows up in the state's own numbers: the California Office of Traffic Safety's 2023 rankings list Lomita in population Group E (103 similarly sized CA cities) with 27 DUI arrests that year, ranking 39th of 103 in that category — squarely mid-pack for a city its size, not a DUI hot spot.

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Ron Chini, Esq.

DUI Defense Attorney · CA State Bar No. 263308

Ron defends DUI cases across Southern California from his Irvine office, in English and Farsi — and works directly with you, not a call center.

Learn more about Ron Chini →