Belmont’s vice mayor, accused of battering and falsely imprisoning an ex-girlfriend earlier this month, was arrested for sexual assault in May and pleaded no contest to drunken-driving charges in 2002.

Bill Dickenson, 41, has been arrested three times in the last six years. City officials said they were unaware of the May incident until a recent Examiner investigation.

Dickenson, who has been on the City Council since November 2005, was arrested for sexual assault on the 100 block of 3rd Street in San Francisco just before 5 a.m. on May 1, said Sgt. Neville Gittens of the San Francisco Police Department. Because of the nature of the case, Gittens said, he could not comment further. It is unclear whether Dickenson will be charged, as the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

But the vice mayor’s short criminal record does not end with the sexual-assault arrest. On July 11, he was also arrested and booked into jail for two misdemeanors after he allegedly grabbed his ex-girlfriend’s purse, swung her to the ground and told her she could not leave a Redwood City restaurant the two own, said Capt. Chris Cesena. The woman suffered abrasions to her right shoulder blade area, left arm and left armpit area, Cesena said, and did not require medical attention.

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Dickenson pleaded no contest in August 2002 to a charge of driving under the influence in Redwood City, authorities said. His blood alcohol concentration registered as high as 0.17, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, when he was arrested on April 6, 2002, Redwood City police Sgt. Steve Blanc said.

As a first-time offender, Dickenson served five days in the county jail work program, paid a $1,131 fine and had his license revoked for 90 days, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Dickenson did not comment directly about his run-ins with the law after The Examiner learned of his May arrest, but he said the case in San Francisco “has no bearing on anything.” He denied any wrongdoing in the July domestic-abuse case, saying the woman hit him in the head with her purse and spilled her alcoholic beverage on him.

When the news of his July 11 arrest came to light, Dickenson said he plans on continuing serving his office with integrity.

mrosenberg@sfexaminer.com

City leaders say prior arrest comes as news to them

Belmont Mayor Warren Lieberman called Vice Mayor Bill Dickenson’s May 1 sexual-assault arrest a “rumor” Monday, three days after The Examiner confirmed the incident with the San Francisco Police Department.

Lieberman was one of several City Hall officials and council members who said they were unaware of the arrest.

“It’s one of these things where if I receive information on something specific and if it’s appropriate to act on it, I will,” Lieberman said Monday.

The council, which meets tonight during a joint session with the Planning Commission, cannot remove one of its members independently, Lieberman said. Only voters can move for a recall, he said.

City Manager Jack Crist said Friday he was also unaware of Dickenson’s San Francisco arrest. City Attorney Marc Zafferano has been on vacation.

Councilwoman Coralin Feierbach also declined to provide substantial comment when informed of the arrest for the first time by The Examiner on Monday.

“We’ll have to just watch how it turns out,” she said.

— Mike Rosenberg

Timeline of trouble

Belmont Vice Mayor Bill Dickenson’s legal woes:

April 2002: Arrested for DUI, assault with a deadly weapon

August 2002: Pleads no contest to DUI; assault charges dropped

May 1: Arrested for sexual assault

July 11: Arrested for battery against co-habitant, false imprisonment

Aug. 11: Deadline for district attorney to file charges in July 11 arrest

Aug. 13: Potential arraignment for July 11 arrest

Sources: Redwood City police, San Francisco police, San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office