Wednesday, March 19, 2014

St. Patrick's Holiday Weekend DUIs

Holiday Weekend DUI Wrap-up


Mesa County, Colo. -- Our agency wasn't the only local law enforcement with extra patrols on the county roads with trained eyes for non-sober drivers. St. Patrick's Day holiday, according to Wikipedia, has a tradition of including alcohol in celebration of the lifting of Lent.

In addition to patrol deputies, addition deputies in their standard issue dark green pants were patrolling the county for drunk and/or drugged drivers. Over this most recent party period, deputies arrested 7 adults for driving and being under the influence of either or both, alcohol/drugs. The deputies on DUI patrols for this recent weekend were paid overtime through a state awarded grant, which target High Visibility Events (or traditional alcohol fueled holidays/events).

The legal limit for blood alcohol content--BAC for drivers over 21 years old is 0.08%, while the limit for drivers under 21 years old is 0.02%, according to the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicle's website, in reference to defining the levels of a qualifying DUI or DWAI in our state. The BAC limit in Colorado for DWAI is 0.05%.

A summary of a few of the impaired driving incidents handled by our agency over the last few days...
  • A 47-year-old Grand Junction man, blew a BAC of .145% on a breath test. He also was driving without a valid driver's license as the status was suspended for insurance termination and the deputy found at least three prior DUI charges in his criminal history.
  • A 35-year-old woman from Grand Junction, was stopped in the area of G and 25 Roads. She self admitted to being on her way to Fruita to pick-up her children. Her breath test registered a BAC of  .116%. The arresting deputy located a bottle of Schnapps inside the woman's vehicle, with 3/4 of it gone.
  • A Clifton resident and 47-year-old female, was arrested for driving under the influence of prescription medication (Ativan and Ambien). This woman was showing many signs and symptoms similar to a person under the influence of alcohol the deputy wrote in his report, which included her unsuccessfully completing roadside maneuvers. She self admitted to having a previous DUID, but no such record was found in the system by the arresting deputy.
To report an unsafe or suspected drunk/drugged driver, call 911 or *CSP/*277 from your mobile phone anywhere in Colorado. Providing a good vehicle description (including license plate information) and detailed location information to dispatch can be very helpful to law enforcement locating the suspected intoxicated driver. It takes everyone on the roads to catch these unsafe drivers.