In March 2015, the Santa Barbara Police Department made 49 DUI arrests. As it does every month, the SBPD distributed to the media its DUI “Round-Up” for the month of March that included narratives of some of the arrests. The department also made special note to thank citizens who called 9-1-1 after witnessing possible DUI drivers.
Here are a selection of the recent arrests:
3/1/15 at 2:09 a.m.: Guadalupe Bernabe-Santana (age 35) was involved in a felony hit-and-run collision with several parked cars on the 1800 block of De La Vina Street. Two witnesses provided Officer Melchor with a description of Santana’s vehicle. Santana’s vehicle, which had major damage and air bags deployed, was located several blocks away with Santana in the driver seat and his passenger outside of the car. Santana displayed signs of intoxication, including slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol. Santana stated he was coming from La Rumba Bar and had consumed “only two Corona beers” prior to driving. Officer Melchor conducted a DUI investigation and determined that Santana was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. He was placed under arrest for DUI and chose to submit to a breath test which registered his BAC at .19 and .19. Paramedics were called to the scene to treat the passenger who had facial injuries from the collision. Santana was booked at County Jail for DUI causing injury, hit-and-run causing injury, unlicensed driver, and no proof of insurance with a bail amount of $100,000.00.
3/5/15 at 1:40 a.m.: Orlando Arrellano-Flores (age 28) failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Gutierrez Street and Anacapa Street. Drinking Driver Team Officer Denbrook observed the violation, conducted a traffic stop, and contacted Flores at his driver side window. Flores smelled strongly of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes. Officer Denbrook became concerned that Flores was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. Flores said that he had consumed three bottles of Modelo beer at the Sandbar prior to driving. Officer Denbrook had Flores perform several field sobriety tests which he failed to successfully complete. He determined that Flores was too impaired to safely drive and placed him under arrest for DUI. Flores refused to provide to submit to a chemical test. Officer Denbrook wrote a search warrant to obtain a sample of Flores’s blood which was authorized by a local judge. An evidentiary blood draw was performed at County Jail and the sample was sent to the DOJ crime lab for analysis. Flores’s BAC was found to be .21. Flores was booked into County Jail.
3/6/15 at 1:15 a.m.: Linda Isolina Clark (age 53) was involved in a collision with a parked vehicle on the 3700 block of San Remo Drive. Officer Garcia arrived and contacted Clark who had already been evaluated by paramedics. Clark appeared very intoxicated and stated that she had two glasses of wine prior to driving. Clark was uncooperative, refusing to exit her vehicle in order to be evaluated for DUI. Clark did however acknowledge that she made a mistake and shouldn’t be driving. Officer Garcia determined that Clark was far too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle and placed her under arrest for DUI. Clark chose to submit to a breath test which registered her BAC at .36 and .38 (more than four times the legal limit). Clark was booked into County Jail.
3/7/15 at 1:03 a.m.: Skyler Chase Simioni (age 21) and his companions were contacted by officers responding to a call of a disturbance involving a vehicle that had possibly been involved in a collision at the intersection of Wye Road and El Camino Real. Officer Corral arrived on scene and observed a disabled Ford truck stopped without lights on, in the number two lane of El Camino Real, impeding traffic. Officer Corral had the driver, Simioni, step out of the vehicle and noticed that he appeared very intoxicated. Simioni said he had consumed “a couple of beers” prior to driving. Officer Corral was advised by SBPD dispatch that Simioni was currently on probation for DUI and had a suspended driver’s license. Officer Corral conducted a DUI investigation and determined that Simioni was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. Simioni was placed under arrest for DUI and submitted to a breath test, providing three breath samples which registered his BAC at .27, .32, and .28. Simioni was booked into County Jail for DUI, violation of probation, and driving on a suspended license.
3/14/15 at 6:13 p.m.: Esteban Velasco-Osorio (age 44) was involved in a collision when he struck two parked cars at the intersection of Canada Street and Gutierrez Street. Officer Corral responded to conduct a DUI investigation after the initial responding officers noticed that Velasco-Osorio smelled strongly of alcohol. Velasco-Osorio stated that he had consumed two small cans of Modelo beer prior to driving. Officer Corral noticed that Velasco-Osorio had slurred speech, smelled strongly of alcohol, and appeared very intoxicated. Officer Corral had Velasco-Osorio complete several field sobriety tests and determined that he was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. Velasco-Osorio was placed under arrest for DUI and for driving without a driver’s license. He chose to submit to a breath test, providing samples which registered his BAC at .20, .09, and .19. Osorio was booked into County Jail.
3/28/15 at 6:50p.m.: Michelle Wong Barquero (age 35) was driving a scooter in the area of Garden Street and Ortega Street when he lost control and fell over. Barquero had a female passenger on the scooter who sustained minor injuries in the collision. Officer Bruce and Officer Cruz were in the area and had observed Barquero driving just prior to the accident. Moments later they heard the sound of the crash and subsequently located Barquero and his passenger standing near the scooter with Barquero attempting to right it. Barquero initially stated that he was just pushing the scooter up the street when it fell, only to have Officer Bruce inform him that she had observed him driving. Both officers noticed that Barquero smelled strongly of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet. They requested Drinking Driver Team Officer Denbrook who arrived and conducted a DUI investigation. Barquero refused to answer questions and refused to cooperate with the investigation. He was placed under arrest for DUI and refused to submit to a chemical test. Officer Denbrook authored a search warrant for a sample of Barquero’s blood which was granted by a judge. Barquero was transported to County Jail where an evidentiary blood draw was performed; analysis of the blood revealed Barquero’s BAC to be .17. He was booked into County Jail for DUI causing injury and resisting or delaying an officer with a bail amount of $100,000.00.