A New Mexico man who was reportedly traveling over 100 miles per hour on Interstate 20 was arrested for DWI and other charges late Saturday night.
Grambling Police arrested Justin Dale Darnell, 39, of Clovis, New Mexico, on I-20 near the Tarbutton Road exit after a brief chase about 10:45 p.m. Saturday.
A GPD officer had been dispatched to Interstate 20 in response of a report of a vehicle driving on the side of the roadway at over 100 miles per hour.
The officer pursued Darnell who continued to swerve in and out among other vehicles at a high rate of speed. Darnell crashed when he attempted to exit I-20 at Tarbutton Road.
Darnell told officers he had been drinking and an opened bottle of Jim Bean was found in the vehicle. He refused to undergo field sobriety tests.
Darnell was arrested and taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center where a breath test was administered. The test indicated Darnell’s blood alcohol concentration was .295g%, over three times the Louisiana legal limit.
Darnell was booked for first offense DWI, reckless operation of a vehicle, aggravated flight from an officer, open container in a vehicle, and two counts of public intimidation.
Bail was set at $39,500.
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.
