Crime & Safety

Man Accused Of Driving Drunk With Child in the Car

According to police, Alphonzo Ojeda is not in the country legally and Border Patrol has asked that he be detained

A Cleveland man is accused of driving drunk with a 2-year-old child in the car.

An off-duty Mentor police officer was working in the Points East parking lot early Sunday morning when he saw a car run into one of the landscaping trees outside of .

The officer talked to the driver of the car, 24-year-old Alphonzo Ojeda of Cleveland.

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Ojeda appeared drunk, so the officer asked him to do a series of field sobriety tests, which he failed, Mentor Police Lt. Tom Powers said.

Ojeda also refused to take a Breathalyzer test, so the officer arrested him on suspicion of drunk driving, Powers said.

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In addition to Ojeda, two other adults and a 2-year-old child were in the car. The kid had been sitting on one of the adult's laps instead of in a booster seat, Powers said.

Consequently, the officer also charged Ojeda with child endangerment, as well as not having a driver's license and failure to control his vehicle.

Ojeda is not in the country legally and Border Patrol has requested that he be detained, Powers said.

Ojeda is scheduled to be arraigned today in Mentor Municipal Court.

The following arrest information was supplied by the Mentor Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. For questions about this story, email jason.lea@patch.com.


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