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Lathrop DUI checkpoint yields one arrests out of 431 vehicles checked
checkpoint DUI
A delivery driver from Domino’s Pizza poses for a picture with Lathrop Police Services after delivering complementary pizzas for officers on Saturday night.

A sobriety checkpoint on Louise Avenue on Saturday night yielded a driver with a blood alcohol content of more than twice the legal limit.

Bretni Mack, 34, allegedly drove into the lanes of the Lathrop Police Services’ DUI checkpoint at Louise Avenue and Cambridge Street and after submitting to breathalyzer test blew a .20 – almost 2.5 times the California limit of 0.08.

She was driving under the influence of alcohol and was the only person charged during the operation that was funded through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

“It just goes to show how impaired alcohol can actually make you,” Lathrop Police Chief Ryan Biedermann said. “The checkpoint is not a mystery – it’s lit up like a Christmas Tree on that part of Louise and because you’re impaired and you’re too committed to where you’re going often times you don’t see a chance to pull off the road until you’re already there.”

Of the 413 vehicles that were checked on Saturday night, only one driver was found to be under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants. A total of 18 citations were issued – mostly for driving on a suspended license or without registration, or for equipment violations that were spotted when a driver tried to avoid the checkpoint altogether.

While the actual crime of driving under the influence is only a misdemeanor in California, Biedermann said that it’s important to have checkpoints like these because it sends a message to drivers that those under the influence will be caught and face charges for their actions.

“While it’s not the most serious of crimes, it has the potential to be – if you go to enough Mothers Against Drunk Driving events you can see what happens somebody gets behind the wheel of a car when they’ve been drinking,” Biedermann said. “Hopefully this prevents another motorist from getting injured or killed as a result of the actions of these drivers.”

Lathrop Police Services also received an unexpected surprise on Saturday when a deliver driver from the local Domino’s Pizza pulled up to drop off complementary pizzas to officers who were working well into the following morning. The driver posed for a photograph with officers before pulling away.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.