GRANDMA ARRESTED WITH 13-YEAR-OLD DRUNKEN DRIVER AT THE WHEEL

Sanjuana Mercado-Mendez, 13, her grandson, blew a 0.14 breath test, nearly twice the legal driving limit of 0.08

By Edmundo Carrillo | Albuquerque Journal | August 5, 2016

SANTA FE – A Santa Fe woman and her 13-year-old grandson were arrested late Wednesday night after deputies pulled their car over and found the teen drunk at the wheel and the woman heavily intoxicated in the back seat, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

Sanjuana Mercado-Mendez, 52, was charged with child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and having an open alcohol container in a motor vehicle. She was released Thursday night on a $2,500 unsecured bond, meaning she got out of jail with her signature. The teen was charged with aggravated DWI, having an open alcohol container and other traffic violations.

According to the incident report, a deputy was driving behind a blue 1994 Oldsmobile sedan on Airport Road and initiated a traffic stop since the car wasn’t staying in its lane. The car turned on Constellation Drive, then onto Riverside Loop before finally coming to a stop. The driver, who had jumped to the back seat, was taken into custody, and the deputy noted that he smelled of alcohol and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery, according to a sheriff’s office report.

The report says deputies determined that he drank a 16-ounce beer from a can found in the backseat. A breath test indicated his blood alcohol content was 0.14, nearly twice the legal driving limit of 0.08. He was charged with aggravated DWI for refusing to take a chemical test and was taken into custody.

Mercado-Mendez, the grandmother, was removed from the backseat, and was highly intoxicated and unable to comply with verbal commands, deputies wrote. She, her grandson and a 15-year-old boy were traveling on N.M. 599 and “around town” while Mercado-Mendez had beer in a cooler in the backseat. Both Mercado-Mendez and her grandson were taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center due to their level of intoxication, while the other teen was released to his mother.

According to online court records, Mercado-Mendez had a driving with a revoked license charge dropped last year and pleaded guilty to driving without a license in 2013 and 2012. She was charged with larceny and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2014, but the charges were dropped by prosecutors.

EDITOR’S NOTE:: You would think Grandma would have chosen a better designated driver.