A Leesburg man was arrested when an officer found him asleep behind the wheel at an intersection after allegedly drinking five beers at a party.
An officer observed the driver of a white Dodge pickup truck, later identified as 20-year-old Alex Ismael Jimenez-Bautista, stopped in the southbound lane on U.S. Hwy. 441 and Citizens Boulevard with a visible green traffic light at around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The officer made a U-turn and drove behind the vehicle to see it still stopped with the brake lights activated. After turning on his overhead lights, he got out of his patrol car and approached the driver’s side window. He saw Jimenez-Bautista asleep in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition, the vehicle in drive and his foot on the brake pedal, the report said.
The officer knocked on the window to wake Jimenez-Bautista up without success, leading him to forcibly knock on the driver’s side door. Once he woke up, he stated he did not speak English. While waiting for an officer with the Lady Lake Police Department, multiple open containers of beer were observed in the center console of the vehicle. Jimenez-Bautista proceeded to pick up one of the open containers, a glass Modelo beer bottle, and place it behind him on the backseat, the report said.
Upon the second officer’s arrival, he assisted with a DUI investigation by translating all instructions and asking all questions in Spanish. He read Jimenez-Bautista his rights, which he verbally and physically acknowledged he understood, the report said.
When asked, Jimenez-Bautista told the officers that he was driving home from a party where he drank five beers. He also stated he did not have a driver’s license and had never been issued one. He instead produced a Mexico ID card, the report said.
A third officer, who was a drug recognition expert from the LPD, then arrived on scene to assist with the DUI investigation and conduct field sobriety exercises. As a result of the officers’ observations, which included swaying and confusion, Jimenez-Bautista was arrested and taken to the LPD for the booking process, the report said.
Jimenez-Bautista agreed to submit to a breath test to determine its alcohol content, providing two samples of .132g/210L and .129g/210L. These were both over the legal limit of 0.08g/210L, the report said.
The native of Mexico was subsequently charged with DUI and operate motor vehicle without driver’s license. He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $1,500 bond.