At about 10:45 pm Monday night, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported dangerous driver at Speedway Express, 1250 East Avenue, Turlock, after two male subjects who were visibly drunk were seen getting into a white Chevrolet van.
The subjects began to drive off, running several stop signs in the process. The caller followed the vehicle and continued updating police dispatch with its location.
Officers were able to catch up to the vehicle in the 2100 block of North Berkeley Avenue. They made a traffic stop on it and made contact with its three occupants, two adults and a juvenile. The adults were identified as Gabino Lopez, 27, of Turlock, and Wilmer Ruizgomez, 20, of Turlock. Lopez was the driver.
Officers removed Lopez from the vehicle and put him through standardized field sobriety tests. As a result of Lopez’s performance in the tests, officers developed probable cause to arrest him.
Ruizgomez was also found to be too intoxicated to take care of himself.
Lopez and Ruizgomez were arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center, Lopez on charges of driving while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 or greater, and child endangerment, and Ruizgomez on charges of public intoxication.
No one was able to take custody of the juvenile so he was taken into custody by Child Protective Services.
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