Santa Barbara police arrest 49 in March DUI roundup

The Santa Barbara Police Department released its final DUI totals for March. Officers arrested 49 people for driving under the influence. Some of those arrested were turned in by other alert drivers who called 911.

The first arrest of the month happened on March 1 at 5:53 p.m. A 30-year-old man was involved in an injury hit-and-run accident on the 1100 block of State Street. The alleged DUI driver, Justin Alexander Holiday, hit a car and a person riding a bike in the bike lane and left the scene. He was arrested later at his home. Police said his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

Santa Barbara police want to thank everyone who calls 911 whenever they see a suspected impaired driver.

Here are a few of the arrests they made in March:

3/1/13 at 5:53 p.m.: Justin Alexander Holiday (age 30) was involved in aninjury hit-and-run traffic collision on the 1100 block of State Street.Witnesses reported that Holiday made an unsafe turning movement that causedhis vehicle to collide with another car. Holiday’s vehicle then collidedwith a bicyclist who was riding in the bicycle lane. Holiday’s vehicle cameto rest lodged partially up on the sidewalk. Following the collisionHoliday and his passenger got out of their vehicle and pushed it off of thesidewalk. Holiday and his passenger then got back into the car, whichprompted a female witness to step in front of the vehicle to block Holiday’sescape. Holiday accelerated his vehicle towards the witness twice, causingher to jump out of the way in fear and to avoid being hit. Holiday fled thescene however was found at his residence minutes later and taken intocustody. Numerous witnesses reported the incident and provided video of itto the police. Holiday displayed significant symptoms of intoxication. Herefused to cooperate with the investigation and was ultimately placed underarrest. Holiday chose to provide two breath samples which registered hisBAC at .18 and .17. Holiday’s passenger stated that they had been consumingbeer throughout the day and were aware they had collided with both a vehicleand a bicyclist prior to fleeing the scene. He acknowledged that leavingthe scene had been “a bad call.” Holiday was booked into County Jail forthe felonies of DUI causing injury, hit-and-run causing injury, intimidatingor threatening a witness, and the misdemeanor of being an unlicensed driverwith a bail amount of $100,000.00.3/4/13 at 3:44 a.m.: Cristian Ryan Quintero (age 28) was observed by OfficerDeBlauw driving through an apartment complex parking lot, toward the street,on 500 W. Los Olivos Street while holding an open bottle of beer. OfficerDeBlauw contacted Quintero and saw that he displayed symptoms of alcoholintoxication. Officer Rosenberg responded and conducted a DUIinvestigation, during which Quintero stated that he had consumed two orthree beers prior to driving. Officer Rosenberg determined that Quinterowas too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle and placed him underarrest for DUI. Quintero chose to provide two breath samples whichregistered his BAC at .18 and .17. Quintero was issued a citation for DUIand admitted into the Sobering Center.3/7/13 at 3:35 a.m.: Clifford John Taylor (age 52) was involved in a trafficcollision when he reversed into a patrol car after he had been stopped byOfficer Morton on 2700 State Street for an inoperative brake light. OfficerMorton noticed that Taylor was displaying symptoms of alcohol intoxicationand requested assistance with a DUI investigation. Officer Burgard arrivedand conducted a DUI investigation on Taylor. Taylor stated that he hadconsumed three glasses of red wine prior to driving. Officer Burgarddetermined that Taylor was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicleand placed him under arrest for DUI. Taylor chose to provide two breathsamples which registered his BAC at .18 and .18. Taylor was issued acitation for DUI admitted into the Sobering Center.3/7/13 at 9:23 p.m.: Mark Ronald Johnson (age 48) collided with a parked caron 1200 Coast Village Road. Officer Clark was nearby on an unrelatedinvestigation when she heard the sound of the collision. Officer Clarkcontacted Johnson who was in his vehicle in the roadway. Johnson initiallystated he had not consumed any alcohol, however was exhibiting signs ofalcohol intoxication. Officer Ortega arrived to conduct a DUIinvestigation and Johnson stated to her that he had consumed two drinks atLucky’s Restaurant prior to driving. Officer Ortega determined that Johnsonwas too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle and placed him underarrest for DUI. Johnson chose to submit to a blood test which registeredhis BAC at .21. Johnson was issued a citation for DUI admitted into theSobering Center.3/9/13 at 11:50 p.m.: Walter Lawrence Stetter (age 42) was involved in asingle vehicle traffic collision into a fence near the intersection ofTallant Road and Las Positas Road. Officer Corral arrived on scene andfound Stetter in the driver seat of his vehicle which had major front axledamage. It appeared as though Stetter was attempting to back the vehicleup. Officer Corral contacted Stetter and noticed an odor of alcohol abouthim. He asked Stetter if he had consumed any alcohol and Stetter statedthat he had three beers approximately two hours prior. Officer Corralconducted a DUI investigation and subsequently placed Stetter under arrestfor DUI. He chose to submit to a breath test and provided two samples thatregistered his BAC at .15 and .15. He also requested a blood test whichalso registered his BAC at .15. Stetter was issued a citation for DUI andadmitted into the Sobering Center.3/15/13 at 11:25 p.m.: Lasaro Humberto Coreas (age 26) was driving on thewrong side of the road in the area of Milpas Street and Haley Street. Acitizen called 9-1-1 to report a possible drunk driver who was now stoppedat Jack-in-the-Box on Milpas Street. Officer Rosenberg responded andcontacted Coreas who was identified by the reporting citizen as the possibledrunk driver. Officer Rosenberg noticed that Coreas smelled strongly ofalcohol and was displaying signs of intoxication. Coreas stated that he hadconsumed two or three beers approximately three hours prior. OfficerRosenberg conducted a DUI investigation and determined that Coreas was toointoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. Coreas was placed underarrest for DUI and initially chose to submit to a breath test. Coreas wasunable to provide sufficient breath samples and was therefore required tosubmit to a blood test which registered his BAC at .25. Coreas was bookedinto County Jail for DUI.3/16/13 at 9:07 p.m.: Cynthia Flores (age 19) was involved in a trafficcollision when she drove into a parked vehicle on the 300 block of E.Pedregosa Street. Officer Keller arrived and observed Flores in a heatedargument with several other people near the collision scene. A witnessstated that they heard the collision and had come out to investigate. Thewitness observed Flores get in and out of her vehicle several times,removing bottles from the car and putting them on the ground. Florespleaded with all the witnesses not to call the police. Officer Tonellolater found several bottles, some empty and others partially full, ofalcohol outside Flores’s vehicle. Officer Keller discovered that Floresonly possessed a driving learner’s permit and was unlicensed at the time ofthe collision. Flores stated that prior to the collision she had left ababy shower at Kids World at Alameda Park and was going to pick up hercousin who was watching her infant child (the cousin was standing nearby thecollision scene with two infants). Flores stated that she had consumed one”Mad Dog” alcoholic drink in her vehicle prior to driving. Officer Kellerconducted a DUI investigation and saw that Flores displayed significantsigns of impairment. Officer Keller arrested Flores for DUI and she choseto submit to a breath test. She provided two breath samples whichregistered her BAC at .18 and .17. Flores was issued a citation for DUI andunlicensed driver and released to the care of her family. Her vehicle wastowed per SBPD policy.