Woman Arrested for DUI After Sleeping in her Car at the Pullman Taco Bell

On September 2, 2024 at approximately 6:35 AM, officers with the Pullman Police Department were dispatched to the scene of an unresponsive female sleeping behind the wheel of her car at the Pullman Taco Bell located at 425 NE Stadium Way. Officers Abby St. Andre, Jordan Shellabarger, and Kayla Stalnaker arrived on scene and made contact with a female who was asleep behind the wheel of a 2015 Ford C-Max in front of the drive thru. Officer St. Andre used the strobe feature on her flashlight while Officer Stalnaker turned off the car, did the sternum rub, and administered a dose of Narcan just in case. Officer Shellabarger told Officer St. Andre that he detected the odor of alcohol. 
The woman began to respond after Officer Stalnaker performed the sternum rub, and first responders arrived on scene a few minutes later. The medics asked her if she had been drinking, and she nodded her head to indicate that she had consumed alcohol. Officer St. Andre asked Officer Stalnaker to obtain the surveillance footage from Taco Bell to prove that the woman did indeed drive there in an inebriated state. The woman was eventually identified as 19-year-old Alexis.  
The medics believed that she needed to be evaluated at the hospital, and they had her placed on a gurney after she agreed to go. Around this time, Alexis was asked how much she had to drink and she told Officer St. Andre that she had consumed 4 seltzers with her sorority sisters. Before going to the hospital, Alexis was asked to submit to a PBT. The results of the PBT indicated a BAC of 0.188%, which was more than double the legal limit of 0.08% for drivers over 21 and over 9 times the legal limit of 0.02% for drivers under 21. 
Officer St. Andre parked her vehicle in a safe location. Officer Stalnaker spoke with a Taco Bell employee and she was advised that Alexis arrived at approximately 5:20 AM, indicating that Alexis had been there for over 1 hour before the officers responded. Alexis was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital for further evaluation, and Officer St. Andre was able to speak with her after she was cleared by the medical staff. At the hospital, Alexis admitted to consuming 4 or 5 seltzers the previous night. 
Alexis was then asked to submit to voluntary field sobriety exercises, and she agreed to do so. Officer St. Andre started with the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer St. Andre observed lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. She also observed vertical nystagmus. The second field sobriety test was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Alexis failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step, turned improperly, and used her arms for balance. The final field sobriety exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Alexis put her foot down twice before the test was complete and failed to count aloud. 
After the field sobriety exercises were complete, Sergeant Alex Gordon arrived at the hospital to take custody of Alexis. He informed Alexis that she was under arrest, and he transported her back to the Pullman Police Department for further processing. Once they were at police HQ, Sergeant Gordon read Alexis her Miranda rights as well as the Implied Consent Warning, and she agreed to submit breath samples for testing. After the breathalyzer was administered, her Alcotest results indicated a BAC of 0.141% (lowest IR result). After Sergeant Gordon was finished with the breathalyzer, he attempted to fingerprint her but their system was not functioning. Alexis was cited for Driving under the influence (RCW 46.61.502) and released pending her court appearance.
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