Photo: Stock Image
Written By: Jim Emerson
BERKELEY — A man found nodding out while driving with a loaded gun was locked up last weekend—not unusual in Berkeley. The suspect this time is Luis A. Sanchez, a 41-year-old carpenter, who lives in Oakland.
On November 5, concerned callers reported seeing a man sitting inside a truck, slumped over the steering wheel, near a major intersection. This incident happened in the high crime “Berkland” neighborhood straddling Berkeley and Oakland.
Berkeley PD units responded shortly after 7 p.m. Officers found the driver near the intersection of Alcatraz Avenue and Adeline Street. Sanchez was fast asleep inside his truck on the Berkeley side of the city limits with Oakland.
Officers roused and arrested him without further incident. Tests performed show that Sanchez was legally impaired with a blood alcohol content exceeding .08 percent. An open bottle of alcohol was in plain view on the floor in front of the passenger seat. There were also unopened bottles of alcohol inside the truck.
Police searched the truck. Tucked inside the glove compartment, officers discovered a loaded firearm. A large-capacity magazine was also found in this sleepy suspect’s possession.
Sanchez was booked for –
Carrying a concealed weapon in vehicle PC 25400(A)(1)
Carrying a loaded firearm when not the registered owner PC 25850(C)(6)
Possession of a large capacity magazine PC 32310(A)
DUI alcohol/drugs VC 23152(A)
DUI alcohol VC 23152(B) DUI Alcohol W/BAC> .08.
