By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – It’s not just fast food restaurants where alleged drunk drivers are having trouble staying awake.
Michael Cornelius Turner, 27, was arrested for DUI after being found unresponsive in a running car at about 11:36 a.m. on Saturday, July 22 while in the ATM drive through lane of the Chase Bank at 321 W. Main St.
According to a Safford Police report, a bank employee informed an officer that Turner had been asleep in his blue Honda for about 10 to 15 minutes. The employee said attempts had been made to wake Turner up but that he would slightly stir, mumble something and go back to sleep.
The door to the vehicle was locked, but the passenger window was down, so the officer reached in and turned off the car and removed the keys from the ignition. The officer managed to wake Turner and inquire if he needed medical attention.
Turner showed several signs of being intoxicated and initially admitted to consuming “a beer or two” which then changed to four beers, according to the police report.
Turner failed field sobriety tests and a portable breath test listed his breath/alcohol concentration at .161, more than twice the threshold for a standard DUI with blood/alcohol concentration.
Turner allegedly admitted to drinking at a local bar the previous night and that he had driven to the bank to withdraw money out of his grandmother’s account.
Court records show Turner previously had a DUI when he was underage in 2009, and he said he received another DUI in 2015. His license was listed as being suspended, and he had already been found guilty of driving on a suspended license in April.
After taking Turner’s blood for testing purposes, he was transported to his grandmother’s house and released. His car was towed from the bank by Magnum Towing.
DUI charges are pending lab test results and review by the Graham County Attorney’s Office.
