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Edit Transcript - DUI Stop Takes An Unexpected Turn
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DUI Stop Takes An Unexpected Turn
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cannot drive if you have that problem it turns the food in your stomach to alcohol how we doing today Deputy Lewis with Lincoln County Sheriff's office so I pulled you over you were crossed over the white line oh yeah because he's helping me drive because I have a lot of pressure down here please okay do you not have a driver's license oh I don't you don't have a driver's license okay do you have an identification from where are you from okay coming from Las Vegas and you just and where are you from I'm from Las Vegas too oh you said you were just getting your uh immigration and oh no yeah oh your passport okay do you have any identification on you the two people you're looking at have just been pulled over by police and Caliente Nevada on January 2nd 2022 supposedly the pair had been traveling back from Las Vegas and heading to Washington but along their way they made a pit stop where one of them was showcasing rather abnormal behavior nearby residents notified their local authorities of the strange occurrence and the vehicle was quickly Tracked Down But as we will soon come to find out there is much more to the story than meets the eye when the deputy approaches the car he quickly realizes that there may be a language barrier between he and the driver Leonardo Mendoza to make things a little easier he asks his partner to help translate so I'm getting alcohol from here I can smell alcohol so ask him when he's had a dream when's the last time he's headed this is not since the 31st but there's no way that that's possible yeah okay but it's acid reflux and supposedly the acid reflux causes dizziness but I don't know how that was okay well I'm getting a strong smell of alcohol so so having him come out stand in front of the vehicle Leonardo claims that his last alcoholic drink was three days ago on December 31st but judging from the overpowering stench of alcohol protruding from the car this seems to be a bold-faced lie stay right there okay turn and face me turn Face me okay so if you'll just explain to him to follow the tip of my finger with his eyes only okay okay important [Applause] okay I can tell you've been drinking when's the last time you had a drink yeah I can tell you're under the influence of alcohol how much have you had to drink I've been busy [Applause] I can tell you I was I can show you my uh my phone calls is there is there any alcohol inside the vehicle I don't think so you don't think so okay I can show you you sit here and talk to him for a few minutes despite Leonardo's denial the officers are very suspicious that he is under the influence additionally another incident had transpired just moments before and it's quite shocking to say the least okay so how much has he had to drink he seems intoxicated well with me I haven't seen him drinking you haven't seen him drinking there's no alcohol inside the car or anything is it your truck or is it his truck it's his truck yeah girlfriend okay so we have a report of him laying face down in the dirt yeah yeah yeah a couple miles back somebody drove by you said he was laying face down in the dirt and we see the marks on him I smell alcohol coming from the vehicle his eyes are showing me he's intoxicated so I think you're both lying to me so he'll relax because because he's intoxicated well okay Leonardo is not only displaying clear signs of intoxication but the report of his lying face down in the dirt just goes to show that there is no covering this up I'm gonna test him and there's a chance he's gonna go to jail today okay for for DUI and I pulled you over because he was driving so far over the white line were you gonna go have the kid in Washington if you're nine months pregnant that's where I have everything that's where I have my insurance picked up my passport because it was from here okay okay just sit tight for me for one more second the officer quickly walks to his car and acquires a breathalyzer machine where he will test Leonardo's alcohol levels and the results are much worse than you'd expect okay just a deep breath and then blow yeah okay okay you're good without saying a word the officer shows his partner the outcome and proceeds to the girlfriend once more okay our Test shows he's three times the legal limit to be driving okay he's extremely intoxicated he fell because he was drunk right yes okay with the legal intoxication limit being 0.08 percent Leonardo scored at or above a 0.24 percentage level indicating that he has had more than a couple of drinks yeah he is going to jail okay uh well he's going to jail because driving Under the Influence is a mandatory arrest okay uh we'll approach the subject and check you to make sure you're good to drive and if that's the case you will be allowed to take the vehicle okay okay so you can sit back in the vehicle like I kind of told him to drive because I was falling asleep because you were falling asleep okay did you guys have a fight out there is that why he was laying down no no he felt dizzy we've been sick been sick well he's under the influence yeah because he's like I was falling asleep I like I said I got on the side of the road uh-huh and I told him if he could drive because I was just falling asleep and it was just so you know how dangerous that is because when when he was pulling up to us he was completely over this line he can't even maintain a lane that's how intoxicated he is okay well it's not your fault he even even if you ask him to he's an adult he needs to say I'm I've been drinking I can't drive he's been telling me we actually had an ambulance out looking for you guys okay because somebody drove by saw him in the dirt and called the ambulance and was looking for him okay well that is what happened and it's a mandatory arrest okay we're gonna put him through some tests but I've already seen I already checked his eyes to see he's extremely intoxicated okay and sitting four or five feet behind the window I can smell the alcohol how much alcohol is inside the car inside the car how long ago how long ago was he drinking okay okay the deputy informs the passenger that she can either wait outside or in the truck before he makes his way to Leonardo can you understand me enough that we can have the okay okay because you are three times the legal limit okay you are far and she just explained to me that she had you drive because she wasn't feeling well and it was her mistake but still you know it's illegal to drive why you're intoxicated okay you can see on on her ID that I just take her away from home she's 18. do you want me to leave it over here well you don't really have the choice at this point okay the officers allow the driver to wear his jacket due to the cold weather and instruct him that he will be performing a series of tests to further demonstrate the severity of his intoxication the next test I want you to do I want you to stand with your arms down to your side lift it about six inches off the ground okay roughly about six inches off the ground I want you to hold it there parallel to the ground and count out loud okay okay arms down at your side okay okay I don't want you to fall so that's that's okay there you're going to be placed under arrest for driving Under the Influence okay you cannot drive impaired when you pulled up to us you were driving you were driving so far over the white line you were gonna hurt somebody okay either yourself your girlfriend you were gonna hurt somebody okay it's out of my hands okay so go ahead and turn around for me face the truck put your hands on the okay you want to hook him up Leonardo is handcuffed and placed under arrest and considering all of the factors this should come as no shock to neither him nor his girlfriend yes sir yes that's just not the way it works if you were drinking and driving you go to jail that's the way it works in Nevada okay there is no exceptions to that rule so he tells you well is it out okay no I can't call your doctor because I smell the alcohol on your breath I did the test to show how much alcohol is in your system you haven't just drink a little you have drink an extreme amount of alcohol with him being uh not having any identification any uh us issued identification I don't know that the judge will release him okay he might be in court or he might have to wait till he goes to court in a couple days or he could get released as early as tomorrow okay are you gonna try to continue on to Washington you're going to go back to Vegas okay the deputy asked the girlfriend if he and his partner are able to search the vehicle for any potential alcohol she quickly permits his request but denies that they will find anything before the officer goes looking he gives Leonardo one last chance at the truth so we have to search your car for this alcohol or you just gonna tell us where it's at or do we have to take the whole vehicle apart looking for the outcall can you please call my doctor and you're so okay but if you do have this condition if you have this condition that makes you drunk you can't have a driver's license and you can't drive it doesn't give you an excuse to drive if you know you have a condition that makes you drunk okay Officer going through intro in my stomach oh no I I that could very well be true but you cannot drive if you have that problem that turns that turns the food in your stomach to alcohol my particular chances that uh if I'm taking that recognition I have to take it with me so the people know so you need to take the prescription okay I've been me having with you because I'm saying the truth okay otherwise I will be with another Behavior I only have to take my prescription with me so in case of anything happens so do or my employers knows that uh I'm going through the but you still can't drive you still cannot drive it's not illegal if you were sitting in the passenger side not drunk but you are driving the vehicle and you're running off the road because you're drunk okay I was no you were that's why I pulled you over is because when you came up to me and I have a camera I have a camera right up there that'll show it and everything you were driving off the road and you were face down laying face down in the dirt just a little bit before we had an ambulance out looking for you because you're laying face down in the dirt because you're so intoxicated no officer I was there because I was dizzy because you're alcohol because of the alcohol what do you what do you want from me Leonardo you were drunk you're driving all over the road I can't let her drive please she's pregnant she's eight months like yeah you have you have kids you know do you how she's gonna feel well you're the one who decided to drive drunk you're the one who decided to drive not me okay so I was driving safe I didn't hear it no you you weren't you were you were way over the white line you were running off the road so are you refusing to do a blood or breath sample are we gonna just have to do a warrant and force it oh yeah oh yeah no you gave a breast sample do you want to do another breath sample okay okay they will take you up to the office and do a breast sample up there okay the deputy heads back to the truck and informs Leonardo's girlfriend that he is being taken to Pioche Nevada where he will be breath tested once again and placed in jail in the meantime the officers would like to locate the medication that has been so greatly discussed over the course of events look about like all of his meds that's the ones that I'm finding do you know what they're all for does this is for acid reflux okay he gets dizzy when he gets the acid reflux yeah when he eats a lot of bad food okay did you ask him if he had been drinking you couldn't I mean I could smell it from so far away you never did ask him or anything so he knew it was going to happen okay but so the whole the topic of him being intoxicated never came up because I mean he fell down he was sitting there in the dirt and he was okay well I'm sure he was okay well I'm I'm I am really sorry about this but our hands are tied if you're driving that drunk you're putting everybody at risk okay regardless of the sobbing please from the couple Leonardo was presumably charged with driving under the influence and taken to jail unfortunately it's never been reported as to what happened following the incident or if he was made to serve any time Behind Bars nonetheless let this just be another reminder of why you should never drink and drive
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