Crime & Safety
DUI for Car Sitter
Two-hour wait in an idling car was a red flag for a nearby resident.
It's no crime to wait in an idling vehicle, but when a man sat at the wheel of his car with the engine running for two hours, a resident on the 2200 block of 10th Street became concerned and phoned the police.
The caller said that the man had gotten out of the Nissan and "urinated all over the place.”
Berkeley Police officers arrived in response to the call, made shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday, to check on the man's welfare. They found a man with bloodshot and watery eyes and slurred speech, exuding the smell of alcohol. They also found an open bottle of brandy in the front cup holder of the car.
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The man could not maintain his balance well enough to perform the majority of the field sobriety tests, and performed poorly on those he could complete, officers said.
A breathalyzer test revealed a blood alcohol level of .24 and .25 percent -- three times the legal limit, .08 percent. Police arrested the 34-year-old Berkeley resident for driving under the influence.
