Last Thursday morning, deputies responded to a report of a suspected drunk driver and observed the vehicle traveling onto the shoulder of U.S. Highway 50.
Deputies were dispatched around 9:30 a.m. to Mayflower Way following a “Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately” (REDDI) call. Dispatch advised that the reporting party said the man was “an alcoholic and was stumbling to his vehicle” and provided a description of the vehicle.
Deputies later located the vehicle parked at a gas pump at a station along Highway 50 East. According to the report, deputies observed the vehicle leave the parking lot and head westbound on the highway.
While following the vehicle, deputies reported seeing it cross both travel lanes and move onto the right shoulder before continuing along the shoulder toward an intersection.
Deputies conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Airport Road and Carmine Street.
Upon making contact with the driver, deputies noted he was not wearing a seatbelt and had “red, glossed-over eyes,” thick and slurred speech, and an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person.
The 77-year-old man told deputies he was heading to his home, which he said was just around the corner. He also told deputies he had consumed two shots of Tito’s vodka around 4 a.m., according to the report.
Deputies asked the man to exit the vehicle and reported that the odor of alcohol became stronger once he stepped out.
The man agreed to participate in field sobriety tests and showed multiple signs of impairment before being taken into custody and transported to jail, where he provided two breath samples. The results were 0.201 percent at 10:44 a.m. and 0.198 percent at 10:47 a.m., both well above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
He was arrested on suspicion of first-offense DUI and driving with expired registration and was released to jail staff without incident, according to the report.
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