In the early morning hours of October 22nd, this past Sunday, police dispatchers in Port Hueneme, California, began receiving calls from drivers and other witnesses about a boy driving a vehicle with an adult male passenger slumped in the passenger seat.
Officers located the vehicle and pulled it over to find Genoro Lopez, 29, intoxicated in the passenger seat with an open alcohol container and his 11-year-old nephew in the driver’s seat.
The boy initially told officers that his uncle was teaching him how to drive, but later admitted that Lopez was “too drunk to drive,” according to police. The boy had been sitting on a sweatshirt to help him see over the steering wheel.
Lopez, who according to police was “displaying clear signs of intoxication,” was asked to step out of the vehicle. That’s when police discovered an imitation firearm between the passenger seat and the passenger-side door.
What’s more, after Lopez was arrested, police discovered that he had a warrant out for his arrest for being an unlicensed driver, although it is unclear whether Lopez was licensed at the time of this incident.
Lopez had previously been arrested in Ventura for DUI in May of this year.
It was also discovered that Lopez had used methamphetamine several hours before the arrest while caring for the 11-year-old.
While Lopez may have avoided a second DUI arrest, he was taken into custody for felony child endangerment, having an open container, and the misdemeanor arrest warrant. Lopez’s was set at $50,000.
If you’ve been drinking, it’s always a good idea to get yourself a designated driver. Just make sure that they’re old enough to drive.
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