DUI sting for the stung?

El Cajon police set up a checkpoint in the parking lot of the El Cajon Superior Court on Thursday afternoon, April 17, checking drivers entering the lot for licenses, registration, and insurance.

The checkpoint coincided with the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Victim Impact Panel, which convenes on the third Thursday of each month. The class is usually required of people as part of the sentence for a DUI conviction.

"We're not supposed to be driving," said a heavily tatted guy who would only give his first name. “Tim” pointed to his bicycle as he watched a flatbed tow truck winch up a Ford Explorer. "It's just one bad decision after another."

Police outside said it was a coincidence that they were checking licenses on DUI class day.

"We do this once a month with grant money from the county Office of Traffic Safety," Officer Cravener said. "I don't know how they schedule it." But similar stings have occurred in the past — the La Mesa Police Department confirmed they had targeted DUI classes in the past at the courthouse.

Calls to the El Cajon police spokesman and to the traffic division for comment were not returned.