Maricopa man charged with 3rd aggravated DUI

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Rolling into an intersection has sent a local man rolling off to jail.

Hever I. Merino Garcia came to the intersection of State Routes 238 and 347 Monday night at 9:36, preparing to make a right turn onto southbound John Wayne Parkway.

According to the Maricopa Police Department’s report, “when the vehicle came to the signal, the light was red. Instead of stopping at the clearly marked stop line or the clearly marked crosswalk, the vehicle continued past both, eventually slamming on its brakes and stopping. When the vehicle stopped, the trunk of the vehicle was in the crosswalk and the rest of the vehicle was in the number 3 lane of southbound 347.”

The responding officer noticed southbound traffic on SR 347 having to brake abruptly to avoid a collision and at that point initiated a stop in the 20900 block of North John Wayne Parkway. In addition, Merino Garcia’s vehicle had no license-plate lights, which, according to the officer, made the plate unreadable at more than about 4 feet away.

Merino Garcia admitted to drinking two beers and completed the standard field-sobriety test but declined to perform a preliminary breath test. At that point, he was placed under arrest on suspicion of aggravated DUI for driving on a canceled driver’s license and driving with a canceled driver’s license.

While investigating those suspected violations, MPD determined through a records check that Merino Garcia’s driver’s license had been cancelled following two suspensions, the most recent for refusing to submit to an implied-consent alcohol test in April. The previous suspension went into effect in November 2018.

A subsequent background check determined that Merino Garcia had previous arrests for aggravated DUI on March 21, 2015, and April 11, 2022.

Merino Garcia performed a blood draw in compliance with Arizona law and was subsequently booked into Pinal County Jail.

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