A man was arrested after he drove away from a traffic stop and an officer had to take evasive action to avoid being run over, police said.
Alexander Gubener, 38, drove off from North Krupps Court in Glennwilde about 7 a.m. on Jan. 20, according to police. Witnesses told police they observed his 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis driving east of the greenbelt on Centennial Court, alleging the vehicle almost struck children walking through the park, according to a probable cause statement.
The incident began when a uniformed officer in a marked patrol vehicle observed the Mercury parked in a Krupps Court cul-de-sac with its brake lights on, police said. The officer found Gubener slumped forward and non-responsive. The keys were in the ignition, the transmission was in park and the vehicle was running.
The officer observed aluminum foil with burnt trails on the man’s lap and awakened Gubener verbally, according to police. He woke up and the officer observed bloodshot, watery eyes. When asked twice to step out of the car, Gubener put the transmission into drive and began to drive off, police said. The officer, who reached into the car to try to stop him, said in the probable cause statement that he had to hold onto Gubener’s car to avoid being struck by the vehicle.
Police located the vehicle on Centennial Court and a search inside allegedly found several pieces of drug paraphernalia. A criminal history check revealed Gubener was wanted on three warrants out of City of Maricopa Court, according to police, whose incident report noted he was on Intensive Probation Supervision.
Gubener was arrested about three hours later in front of a West Barcelona Lane home in Tortosa and taken to Maricopa Police Department, then to Pinal County Jail, police said.
Gubener remains in custody, according to online inmate records, and has a preliminary hearing on new charges scheduled for Feb. 5.
