By MAIRE O’NEILLJayston Ray Platero, 35, of Los Alamos was charged June 12 with two counts of child abuse in addition to charges of driving under the influence and driving on a revoked or suspended license.
Los Alamos Police Cpl. Gabriel Nieto was dispatched to the customer service desk at Smith’s Marketplace in response to an intoxicated male accompanied by two children. Nieto attempted to locate the man and eventually saw someone fitting the description getting into a silver Dodge Neon. Shortly thereafter, Cpl. Robert Larsen reported that the vehicle had pulled in to the Smith’s gas station.
According to court documents, Nieto spoke to a woman in the front passenger seat of the vehicle who allegedly told him that Platero had consumed more than 12 miniature bottles of alcohol throughout the day with the last shot an hour earlier. Platero allegedly told Larsen he had four miniatures two hours before his contact with police.
Platero agreed to perform a series of standard field sobriety tests and based on his performance, Nieto placed him under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Two later breath tests each yielded results of .15 breath alcohol concentration.
Platero appeared June 13 before Los Alamos Magistrate Judge Pat Casados and is free on his own recognizance on conditions of release pending a July 20 status hearing.
