BUCKHANNON – A Virginia man was arrested in Upshur County Sunday after he was pulled over and allegedly failed two sobriety tests.
Mario Castillo, 47, of Rich Creek, Virginia, was arrested for third-offense driving under the influence, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Deputy Cole Bender with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, Feb. 26, at approximately 12:34 a.m., Bender received a call regarding a reckless driver traveling eastbound on Route 33. Bender was advised that a Ford Escape was “all over the road,” according to the report.
Bender was subsequently notified that the vehicle had turned off the Morton Avenue exit. Bender then saw a vehicle matching the description parked in the roadway on Fifth Street. According to the report, the vehicle started to move slowly when Bender pulled in behind it. He initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and discovered its driver was Castillo.
Bender detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle, according to the file, and Castillo allegedly displayed very slurred speech and seemed disoriented. When Bender asked him to exit the vehicle, he allegedly had trouble keeping his balance and “continued to stumble around,” the report says. Bender also observed several large empty White Claw alcoholic beverages on the driver’s side floor. Castillo allegedly showed numerous signs of impairment on the HGN Field Sobriety Test and told law enforcement he could not perform the walk-and-turn and one-legged stand test.
He also allegedly failed the preliminary breath test, displaying a .309 blood alcohol concentration and refused to take the approved secondary test. The legal limit for operating a vehicle in West Virginia is a BAC of .08. Bender obtained a search warrant for Castillo’s blood to seek evidence of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
According to the report, Castillo has a prior DUI conviction dated Sept. 16, 2016, in Raleigh County, West Virginia, and a pending charge of driving in an impaired state charge in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
Bail was set at $15,000 cash only by Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis.
The potential penalty for DUI third offense is confinement in the state penitentiary for not less than two years nor more than five years; revocation of her or his license to operate a motor vehicle by the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles for life or for a period of time conditioned on participation in the test-and-lock program; and the court may, in its discretion, impose a fine of not less than $3,000 nor more than $5,000.
