Harris County crime: 118 suspected drunk drivers arrested by Precinct 4 Constables
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Over 100 drivers were arrested during the New Year's holiday within the boundaries of Harris County Precinct 4, authorities said.
Deputies with Constable Mark Herman's Office conducted an impaired driver initiative to provide a strong proactive law enforcement presence to reduce the number of DWI related offenses and fatal crashes within the Precinct 4 boundaries.
SUGGESTED: Houston crime: Suspect fires shots at police during narcotics operation
A total of 118 suspected drunk drivers were arrested. Each was said to have been stopped for traffic violations and displayed several signs of intoxication.
"Unfortunately, the amount of intoxicated drivers on the roadway was prevalent," said Captain Jonathan Zitzman.
Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were administered on each suspect, and it was discovered that they were driving while intoxicated, authorities said.
All suspects were arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail and charged with driving while intoxicated.
Zitzman says their initiative is one they plan on doing next year, as drinking and driving unfortunately goes hand-in-hand with the holidays.
"Certainly, during the holidays, depression is pretty common," said Zitzman. "But additionally, people are off work finding other things to do, but with these ride-share programs, there's no excuse for drinking and driving."
Douglas Franklin, Brian Blanco, Jose Nino Oscar Fernandez, Jessie Brandon, Michael Phillips, Richard Sung, Eric Beasley, Felipe Garcia and Agostinho Cardozo were charged with their third offense of driving while intoxicated.
Amanda Jones and Richard Campos were charged with driving while intoxicated with a child passenger. Crystal Espinosa was out on bond for DWI with a child passenger. Aaron Brown, David Gipson, Isreal Gonzalez, Anthony Villareal, Bertie Yerez, Pollie Donnie, Christopher Ware, Delfino Sanchez, Timothy Reed Jr, Eulogio Vasquez, Daniel Hernandez, Diamonte Warner Rudy Garcia, Christopher Lim, and Mary Folger were charged with their second offense of DWI.
Zitzman says about 25% of fatal crashes involve a drunk driver in Harris County, so these arrests may have saved lives. But, law enforcement can only do so much.
"You can't catch everybody," he said. "While we were able to get 118, there are countless people out there drinking and driving. We encourage people to drink responsibly but drive responsibly as well."