By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – While imbibing this holiday season, Gila Valley Central encourages the public to be aware of your alcohol consumption and never to drink and drive.
Recently, a teenaged driver was given a citation for being underage with alcohol in body and an underage DUI after a good Samaritan followed the teen as the impaired driver collided with signs en route to his girlfriend’s house.
On Dec. 13, an officer was dispatched at about 10:13 p.m. to a residence near the Manor House regarding a vehicle that had been driving erratically and had struck some road signs. The reporting party had followed the driver to the residence near the intersection of Graham Lane and E. 7th Street and saw the driver enter the residence.
Upon arrival, the officer located a red Toyota sedan that had fresh dents and scratches on the front bumper. The officer then knocked on the door and a woman answered.
The officer asked about the Toyota, and the woman said it belonged to her daughter’s boyfriend but that he was asleep.
The officer said he knew the driver, later identified as Dominic Perez, 19, had just entered the house. The woman then retrieved Perez, who appeared to be intoxicated.
After initially denying drinking alcohol, Perez allegedly admitted to consuming roughly 12 beers and that he had struck some traffic barricades near the Circle K on the east side of Safford. A portable breath test showed Perez’s breath/alcohol concentration to be .220.
Perez was then given his citations and was released back into the residence.
