Carson City arrests: Woman jailed for DUI after striking power pole

A 34-year-old Carson City woman was arrested early Saturday morning for misdemeanor first-offense driving under the influence of alcohol, a sheriff's deputy reported, after her vehicle had struck an electrical pole.

According to the arrest report, a sheriff's deputy was dispatched to the area of N. Nevada and W. King streets for a reported motor vehicle crash. The reporting party (RP) told Carson City Dispatch that the female driver of a blue BMW sedan had hit a tree in the area.

When the deputy arrived, the suspect vehicle was located, appearing to have struck a wooden electrical pole on N. Nevada Street. The power pole was observed to be severely damaged by the crash, the report said.

The suspect driver was located still seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Her eyes were observed to be red and watery, her speech very thick and slurred, and the deputy could smell a moderate alcohol odor coming from her breath, the report said.

The suspect reported that she was uninjured. As she exited the vehicle, the suspect began to stagger and lost her balance, falling backward against the vehicle.

When asked by the deputy what had happened, the suspect replied, "A drunken mistake. I know I should not have been driving."

The suspect also admitted to have consumed three alcoholic drinks, the report said.

However, she refused to participate in standard field sobriety tests (FSTs) or to provide a preliminary breath test (PBT).

Based on her statements to the deputy already and his observations, she was taken into custody, believed to be too intoxicated to be operating a vehicle, the report said. She was arrested at 3:18 a.m.

Upon being handcuffed, the suspect's steps toward the patrol vehicle were observed to be staggered and she swayed from side to side during a weapons search.

The suspect was transported to the Carson City Jail for booking. Because of the suspect's refusal to submit to a PBT, a warrant was obtained for a blood draw. Bail: $1,137.

In other arrests:
— A 39 year-old Carson City man was arrested Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of S. Carson Street for suspicion of felony possession of methamphetamine, a Carson City Sheriff's deputy reported.

Tony Sedano was taken into custody after a Sheriff's deputy was dispatched to the area on report of a male smoking crack in his vehicle.

Upon arrival, the deputy located the suspect vehicle and the suspect, who had just exited his vehicle.

Law enforcement made contact with the suspect, and during questioning, the deputy smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle.

According to the arrest report, the suspect denied any other substance was inside of the vehicle besides legal marijuana.

The deputy then informed the suspect that a K-9 officer would be used to perform an exterior sniff of the vehicle, and the suspect consented.

No positive alert was noted during the sniff, the report said, and the deputy asked the suspect for permission to search the vehicle. The suspect told law enforcement that his wife had to be asked.

The suspect's wife was nearby speaking with another deputy. When asked for permission to search the suspect vehicle, the woman said, "Go ahead. There's only marijuana inside."

During the vehicle search, a white glass methamphetamine pipe was located containing drug residue that was field tested presumptive positive for meth.

The suspect was detained in handcuffs at that time and a search of his person recovered two small plastic baggies containing additional meth.

The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Carson City Jail. Bail: $2,500.

All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.