PAUMA, Calif. -- The Rincon Band fire chief has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving and child cruelty.

Gerad F. Rodriguez, 47, was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer on Highway 76 just east of Pauma Valley Drive at 8:50 a.m. on Monday, CHP Officer Eric Newbury told the North County Times.

A field sobriety test confirmed that Rodriguez had a blood-alcohol level above the .08 percent legal limit, Newbury told the Times.

Rodriguez was booked into the Vista Detention Center at about 2:30 p.m. on Monday, a jail clerk said, and bail was set at $12,500.

Rodriguez was driving an SUV owned by the Fire Department and was believed to have been driving with at least one child in the vehicle, the Times reported, citing a source close to the investigation who requested anonymity.

Nikki Symington, public information officer for the band, said tribal officials would decline comment and added that they'll discuss Rodriguez's arrest and future with the department at a council meeting Tuesday or Wednesday.

Symington said it wasn't clear if Rodriguez was on duty during the incident.

Rodriguez has been part-time fire chief in Rincon since the paid Fire Department was established in 2006, Symington said.

He also has worked full time as a firefighter and paramedic for the San Diego Fire and Life Safety Services since 1986, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque. Currently, he works at Station 40 in Rancho Penasquitos.