My Beer Friend

When trying to prove your sobriety to a police officer, blurting out that the person next to you is the real drunk one might not be the most effective strategy, as one man found out Dec. 28.

A University of Arizona Police Department officer was driving down Speedway Boulevard at around 12:45 a.m. when he caught a car going 50 mph. 

He stopped the car at the corner of Speedway Boulevard and Country Club Road and informed the driver of the reason for the stop. The man apologized for speeding.

The officer asked to see the man’s vehicle insurance. When removing some cards from his wallet, the officer noted in the police report that the man “displayed poor dexterity with his fingers” and smelled of alcohol.

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The officer enquired into whether or not the man had been drinking. The man said he had not and proceeded to point to his passenger and said “she has.” 

After this, the officer performed a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test on the man to check his sobriety. According to the report, the man displayed six cues out of six, indicating he was likely intoxicated.

Complying with the officer’s request, the man exited his car. He also admitted to having had “a couple of beers” that night.

The officer continued the sobriety tests and had the man walk in a straight line on a painted white line in the parking lot. During the Walk and Turn test, the man displayed three out of eight cues.

He then had the man stand on one leg, but during the test, the man stopped and said he was unable to do so. 

A second officer arrived and administered another horizontal gaze test, during which the man once again displayed all six cues.

The original officer placed the man under arrest for driving under the influence. He handcuffed him and transported him to the UAPD station. 

In the station’s intoxication room, the officer administered a breath test for alcohol. The man’s blood alcohol concentration was about 0.2.

The officer charged him with speeding and driving under the influence. The man was cited and released.

White Rock-a-Bye

A man found on UA property later found himself in Pima County Jail after not one, not two, but three charges were filed against him in addition to four outstanding warrants.

A UAPD officer was responding to an alarm call on the north side of campus on Jan. 4 when she first saw a man in the parking lot of the Phi Kappa Pi fraternity house walking up to the back door of the house.

When the officer returned at approximately 2 a.m. after completing the call, the man was still in the parking lot. The officer approached the man, and he identified himself to her. 

He also revealed to the officer that he had an active exclusionary order from UA property. The man told the officer that he believed he was allowed to be there because the members of Phi Kappa Pi were “okay” with him.

The officer explained that because the fraternity house is university property, his presence there was a violation of the exclusionary order.

She then performed a records check on the man and discovered that he had three outstanding warrants from UAPD and an additional warrant from the Tucson Police Department. 

The officer placed him under arrest, handcuffing him while a second officer arrived to assist in the body search.

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During the search she found two clear plastic containers, one with a small “white rock” and white flakes in it and the other with an oily yellow substance inside. A single bullet, but no firearm, was also found on the man.

The second officer took the man to Pima County Jail, while the first officer returned to the UAPD station to perform a field test of the items found on the man.

The “white rock” turned out to be 0.2 grams of methamphetamine. The officer noted that based on prior knowledge and experience, the yellow residue was likely marijuana oil, and the five cigarette cartridges with matching yellow residue found inside the man’s backpack seemed to support this.

At Pima County Jail, the man was booked on charges of possession of a dangerous drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal trespass in the second degree, plus the four outstanding warrants.

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