ST. GEORGE —A Washington state man is in jail without bail after several motorists called 911 reporting a suspect driving recklessly as he headed into Utah from Arizona over the weekend.
After a short pursuit, the suspect was stopped less than five miles north of the Port of Entry where a trooper found what appeared to be an intoxicated driver on a video call.
On Sunday, the St. George Communications Center issued a broadcast notifying officers throughout Washington County of a reckless driver heading north into Utah near the Port of Entry, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
The report also states that emergency dispatch received multiple reports of a motorist driving “recklessly for a while.”
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper spotted the vehicle making “drastic” lane changes, where the car went completely off the right shoulder and then veered sharply to the left where it crossed both lanes of travel, “nearly causing collisions” with other motorists, the trooper noted.
The suspect’s vehicle continued north with the trooper close behind, and he attempted to conduct a traffic stop less than a mile down the road.
The driver pulled off to the right and stopped the vehicle, but before the trooper had a chance to exit his patrol unit, the suspect pulled out into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed and nearly collided with several approaching cars.
The trooper pursued the suspect for approximately two miles, which is when the driver pulled off the interstate and stopped on the right shoulder for a second time.
The trooper got out and started to yell to the driver to exit the vehicle, and when the suspect reportedly failed to respond, the trooper approached and ordered the driver, who appeared to be Hispanic, out of the car in Spanish.
“The driver appeared to hear me and physically respond; however, he made no attempt to comprehend or obey command[s],” the trooper noted in the report.
At that point, the trooper noticed the driver’s eyes appeared glossy and he also smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the suspect, who was reportedly on a live video call on his cell phone.
When ordered to put down the cell phone and exit the car, the suspect gave the trooper a blank stare and remained inside the car as he continued with the call.
After multiple orders to exit the car, the suspect complied, which is when the trooper noticed the man’s motor skills were “slow and deliberate” as he got out of the car. The suspect had an unsteady gait as he accompanied the trooper toward the rear of the truck.
Once he was detained, the suspect’s speech was slow and lethargic as the driver appeared to be struggling to keep his eyes open, and after observing the suspect’s alleged propensity to flee, coupled with his inability to obey commands, the trooper noted, no field sobriety test was administered at the scene.
The driver was identified as a Washington resident Tereso Cisneros-Perez, 26, of Tacoma. He was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and was booked into jail shortly before 10 p.m. facing two third-degree felony charges for DUI and evading. He also faces a misdemeanor charge for having an open container of alcohol inside of the car.
Following the arrest, the suspect remains in custody without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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