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