DUI suspect found asleep at wheel, arrested after high-speed chase

It was 6 a.m. on Sunday when Maricopa Police found 20-year-old Luis Valdez Carrillo asleep behind his steering wheel on State Route 347.

Earlier that morning, police received a report that a dark-colored Dodge Charger ran into the center median on Interstate 10 and the vehicle was sitting at a green light for several cycles at SR 347 and Edison Road in Maricopa.

After being woken up by officers, Valdez Carrillo appeared to have “bloodshot watery eyes, slow dextral movement and dazed expression,” according to the report. When police activated their red and blue lights, Valdez Carrillo acknowledged the officers’ presence and allegedly drove off at a “high rate of speed.”

According to the report, he was weaving through lanes and nearly struck an officer with his vehicle. Officers eventually lost visual sight of Valdez Carrillo and set up a perimeter of his last known location.

The vehicle was spotted later across town on Dutchman Drive in Maricopa Meadows, and Valdez-Carrillo was located in the back seat and arrested. At the police station, he blew a 0.150 and 0.147 during an alcohol breath test, according to police records.

Valdez Carrillo was charged with underage driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of alcohol by an underage person, unlawful flight from law enforcement vehicle, endangerment, reckless driving, aggravated DUI with license revoked and an open container violation.

Valdez Carrillo is held in the Pinal County Jail on $40,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 18.