Texas Drunk Driving Articles

Last Saturday, Odessa Police arrested an 18-year man who crashed his car into a house, killing a 72-year old man inside. Frederick Gardea Gonzalez was driving a vehicle at a high rate of speed when he left the road, crossed a field and became airborne. The car went completely through the home of James and Melba Paysinger, coming to a stop in the backyard.

James Paysinger was pronounced dead at a local hospital. His wife suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Gonzalez was charged with manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. On Sunday, he remained held on $100,000 bond at the Ector County Detention Center.

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A man crashed into an Arlington Police Department squad car around 5:00 am Thursday, injuring the officer and resulting in a Texas DWI arrest. Officer Tony Crowsey was turning on a green arrow at the intersection of Pioneer Parkway and Texas 360 when his vehicle was struck by a speeding white Ford Crown Victoria traveling westbound. An open beer was found in the Ford, and the driver, Kedrain N. Bunton, had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, leading officers to investigate the scene a drunk driving incident.

Officer Crowsey was taken to an Arlington medical center where he was treated for an injured leg and later released. Bunton, 23, was also treated for non-life-threatening injuries and then booked at the Arlington City Jail on charges of driving while intoxicated in Texas. His bail was set at $1000.

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A Texas Tech campus police officer has been placed on administrative leave following an incident where she is thought to have let an intoxicated driver go free. Around 4:50 am on August 1, the unnamed female officer stopped Michael Aaron Garcia for a traffic infraction. Garcia claims the officer told him he would not be charged with Texas DWI if he found a safe ride home. Garcia was taken home by his relatives. A little over an hour later the Lubbock Police Department responded to a scene where Garcia was threatening his relatives because they thought he was too intoxicated to drive. That incident lead Garcia to be charged with arson and assault.

Now University officials want to know about the initial traffic stop. It is unclear if Garcia was actually impaired at 4:50 am, though he did tell Lubbock officers about the offer from the campus cop. The initial reason for the traffic stop is not documented in computer records, nor is there a reference to Garcia driving while intoxicated. As Garcia is under 21-years of age, he was subject to arrest for any detectable presence of alcohol. Texas DWI law says it is the discretion of a law enforcement officer to make an arrest for drunk driving, and while the university policy mandates that officers follow state law, it does not specify specific action for suspected DWI traffic stops.

In a related issue, the investigation will try to determine why three outstanding misdemeanor warrants for Garcia's arrest apparently did not appear in a routine check.

An administrative leave is not an indication of wrong-doing on the part of the Texas Tech officer. It is considered standard action at most law enforcement agencies while an investigation is being conducted.

As of August 10, Garcia remains jailed on $74,000 bond.

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An intoxicated Lubbock Texas man was arrested Sunday morning after he went on a rampage because family members refused to give him his car keys and let him drive. Michael Aaron Garcia responded by threatening several relatives, including a child, with a metal pole and damaging one of their cars with it. He then used paper and a lighter to set several small fires inside the apartment where four people lived because they said they were going to call the police.

Lubbock Police arrived on the scene around 6:00 am and found the apartment on fire. They were able to extinguish the flames before they spread. During his arrest Garcia smashed one of the squad car windows.

The incident began at 4:50 in the morning when a Texas Tech police officer pulled over Garcia and issued a citation for driving without a valid license and not having auto insurance. It is unclear why the traffic stop was initiated, and there is no record of a TX DWI investigation. The Lubbock Police cannot confirm whether Garcia was intoxicated at the time he was stopped by the campus police, however Garcia says that the officer said he would not be charged with DWI in Texas if he could get a safe ride home. Family members met Garcia at the Amigo United Supermarket shortly after.

Garcia, 20, has been charged with arson, aggravated assault, endangering a child, resisting arrest and several additional offenses.

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A Baytown doctor has had his professional license to practice medicine suspended following an incident of DWI in Texas. On July 16, Dr. Felix Nabor Sabates, Jr. was stopped by Montgomery County law enforcement for weaving through traffic at speeds in excess of 100 mph. He was dressed in medical scrubs and told the officer he was on his way to the hospital to see a patient. The officer suspected impairment because Sabates' speech was slow and confused and his eyes were bloodshot. Sabates was asked to perform a field sobriety test, which he reportedly failed. He refused to submit to a breath test.

During a search of Sabates' vehicle, police found 280 tablets of cocaine, morphine, Adderall and hydrocodone. The cocaine was in unmarked capsules, and Sabates could not provide a prescription to justify possession of the other three drugs.

Sabates has a history of mental illness and substance abuse dating from the 1990's. A five-year disciplinary order was issued in 1994 for alcohol and cocaine abuse and attempted suicide.

Following the recent arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Texas, the Texas Medical Board suspended Sabates' license indefinitely, stating that his continued practice would be a "threat to public health and safety".

Sabates, 50, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, TX DWI and reckless driving. He is free on $70,000 bond.

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An El Paso woman tried to drive over a set of railroad tracks rather than using a crossing early Monday morning, and got stuck. Roxana Arlett Baez abandoned her SUV around 1:30 am and soon after a train hit the vehicle.

Officers found Baez, 27, walking along the tracks and determined she was intoxicated. She was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Texas and booked at the El Paso County Jail.

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An intoxicated off-duty officer with the Dallas Police department has been arrested after discharging her weapon in a squad car while fellow officers were taking her home.

Kelly Beemer had attended a party Wednesday night with other members of the police department when she was a determined to be too drunk to drive home. During the evening she allegedly offered rides to co-workers and then hid from officers. Two on-duty officers were summoned to the bar around 11:30 pm to take Beemer to her east Dallas home. She was stumbling so badly that the two officers had to hold her up as they escorted her to their squad car. While in the vehicle, Beemer thought she was being arrested and became belligerent. On a dashboard camera video recording she is heard to say, "This is what you've wanted." When one officer replied, "To take you home?", Beemer replied "To drive me out of my mind to where you have no (expletive) control, no control whatsoever."

Beemer then withdrew her department issued handgun and fired a single shot into the baseboard of the police cruiser. Another officer can be heard yelling, "Kelly, drop the gun! Drop it! Drop it!"

Commanders who arrived on the scene did not initially file charges because Beemer was so intoxicated that she could not be interviewed. After reviewing the squad car video, Beemer was charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits. She was released Thursday night after posting bond.

No one was hurt in the incident. The police chief called Beemer's actions "reckless" and "unacceptable". The videotape of the incident was released to show that the department was not trying to cover up the shooting. Beemer has turned in her weapon and badge until an investigation is complete. She could lose her license as a peace officer is convicted.

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Last October, the Houston Police Department started training officers in drawing blood to test blood-alcohol content in suspected Texas drunk driving cases. Mayor Annise Parker has now cancelled that program.

Because the blood sample would become evidence in a criminal case, Texas DWI law specifies who can conduct a blood draw and in what environment. Most police departments rely on phlebotomists on-staff or at medical facilities to conduct a blood draw. Using federal funds, the Houston program intended to have officers themselves take samples, thus reducing processing time following an arrest for drunk driving. In addition to special training, the initial ten officers in the program received required shots for hepatitis and immunizations.

While the reason for the cancellation of the program was not given, blood draws are controversial. Recent changes in state legislation allow for mandatory blood draws in certain situations, especially when the motorist has a prior conviction for Texas DWI and causes an accident or has a minor in the vehicle. Some police departments employ 'No Refusal Weekends' where a judge is on call to sign a warrant for a blood sample when a motorist refuses to submit to a breath test.

The Houston initiative came under closer scrutiny when it was learned that 50 inmates at a local correctional institution were used in the training of the police officers. While it was claimed that the inmates were scheduled for blood testing anyway and that they gave permission to have their blood drawn by the police officers, there was an effort to keep the testing procedure quiet. Organizers feared a perception of using the inmates as guinea pigs. There is no indication that the mayor knew about this detail before stopping the practice.

The HPD says the mayor's orders will not eliminate 'No Refusal Weekends'. Officers will resort to using specially trained medical staff.

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A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested a Harlingen police sergeant for Texas DWI over the Memorial Day weekend. Sgt. Michael Bradley Fechner reportedly ran a red light early Saturday morning. The investigating trooper said that Fechner's speech and balance appeared ok but he had a very strong odor of alcohol and glossy eyes.

Fechner refused to submit to a breath test for blood alcohol content. He failed several field sobriety tests, including walking and turning, standing on one leg and the horizontal gaze nystagmus.

Fechner was booked on charges of driving while intoxicated in Texas. He appeared before a Cameron County judge on Saturday, and bond was set at $2,500. It is the officers first alcohol related driving offense.

Fechner, 38, remains on duty pending an investigation by the police department. If convicted of DWI in Texas, he could have his driver's license suspended, be fined $2,000, spend up to six months in jail and lose his peace officer's license.

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A deputy with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's department has been arrested for driving while intoxicated in the Austin area. Deputy Michael St. Romain struck and injured a motorcyclist in San Marcos over the Memorial Day weekend. Because there was an accident with injury, local police took a blood sample to test St. Romain's blood alcohol content. While the test results are not complete, he was booked on charges of Intoxication Assault on Wednesday.

A spokesperson with Precinct 4 in the Houston area said that St. Romain would lose his job in accordance with department policy, if he is found guilty of DWI in Texas. In the interim, St. Romain has been suspended without pay. He has been a deputy patrol officer for about 18 months.

St. Romain's Texas DWI defense lawyer says that there is evidence that his client did not commit the offense. St. Romain was purportedly in a grocery store at the time of the accident and that someone else was driving his black Mustang. San Marcos Police say that there are currently no witnesses who can provide information about the crash or the deputy's role. Precinct 4 is allowing San Marcos to handle the investigation of the incident.

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