A Texas man was arrested Wednesday night on a fourth DWI charge after his car hit another vehicle in a Ruston convenience store parking lot, according to an arrest affidavit.
Margarito Banegas, 61, of Corsicana, Texas, was arrested by Ruston Police at 9:38 p.m. Sept. 23 on South Service Road West.
Officers were called to the lot at 8:55 p.m. about a two-vehicle crash. Banegas was driving a 2005 Dodge Neon that had hit the rear bumper of another vehicle.
The officer smelled a slight odor of alcohol coming from Banegas and saw that his eyes were bloodshot. Banegas agreed to do field sobriety tests, and the officer used Google Translate to give him the instructions. Banegas performed poorly on the tests.
Banegas was handcuffed and read his Miranda rights. He was then taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center, where he gave a breath sample of 0.074 grams percent.
A records check showed that Banegas’ driver’s license was suspended and that he had a criminal history involving DWI, making this his fourth charge. When asked whether he had been drinking, Banegas said he hadn’t had any alcohol in the last 24 hours and was just sleepy.
Banegas was booked on charges of fourth-offense operating a vehicle while intoxicated, failure to yield and driving with a suspended license. He was released on his own recognizance on the failure to yield and suspended license counts.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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