Paris Hilton booked for investigation of driving under the influence in Hollywood, police say

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Paris Hilton was arrested early Thursday and booked on suspicion of DUI after she was spotted driving her Mercedes erratically in Hollywood, police said. <br/><br/>Her publicist said

Thursday, September 7th 2006, 6:15 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Paris Hilton was arrested early Thursday and booked on suspicion of DUI after she was spotted driving her Mercedes erratically in Hollywood, police said.

Her publicist said she had one margarita on an empty stomach and was tired from working all day.

Hilton was arrested shortly before 12:30 a.m., said police Officer I. Isabella.

``The officers observed that Hilton exhibited the symptoms of intoxication. A field sobriety test was conducted at scene, and the officers determined she was driving under the influence,'' Isabella said, reading from a police statement. He said officers stopped Hilton because she was ``driving erratically.''

Hilton, 25, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence and released on her own recognizance, he said.

Her publicist, Elliot Mintz, confirmed the arrest and said she had the minimum blood-alchohol level to warrant an arrest. The legal limit in California is 0.08.

``She's absolutely fine,'' Mintz said. ``She didn't appear in the least bit to be intoxicated.''

At the time of her arrest, Hilton was driving home in her Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren from a charity event where she had a margarita, he said. She had spent the day shooting a music video for her new album, ``Paris.''

Hilton was picked up from the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood station by her sister, Nicky, boyfriend Kevin Connolly and Mintz.

Video footage posted on the celebrity Web site TMZ.com shows Hilton arriving home afterward in Mintz's Mercedes-Benz, getting out of the passenger side with a cell phone to her ear and saying something inaudible to photographers before walking inside.

In June, Hilton had a fender-bender when her Range Rover backed into a car in a parking garage after a shopping trip.