According to a Dalton Police Department incident report, On April 23rd, 2023, at 2:16 AM, Officer Bethune was stationary in the area of West Walnut Ave and Walnut Pl, watching traffic, when he observed a white 2013 KIA Optima driving without any headlights activated. Officer Bethune then observed it fail to maintain it’s lane of travel and drive in between both the outside and inside lanes with the white dotted line between the vehicle. Officer Bethune conducted a traffic stop and noticed that the passenger side brake light was burned out. The vehicle then activated its left turn signal and swerved right into the center lane before abruptly coming to a stop. The officer then made contact with the driver, later identified as Angel Perez Martinez, 33, of Dalton. Officer Bethune reported, “When [I] spoke with Angel, [I] noticed that his eyes were extremely red and glassy. [I] also noticed that Angel appeared to stare through me as if there was someone or something behind me. [I] then detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle. [I] then asked Angel for his driver’s license, and he advised me that he does not have a driver’s license. [I] then asked Angel how much he had to drink, to which he replied, “two” and held up two fingers. [I] then began to speak with Angel at the rear of the vehicle, but quickly learned that Angel spoke Spanish with very little English.” Angel then began to apologize to the city and state for “What he was doing”, but was unable to answer exactly what it was that he was doing. During field sobriety tests, Angel showed several signs of impairment. Angel was placed under arrest and refused the state test. Angel was booked into the Whitfield County Jail, where he showed a BAC of .147 on the state test. Angel was charged with DUI alcohol, driving while unlicensed, driving without headlights when required, brake light out, and failure to maintain a single lane.
Unlicensed drunk driver arrested after failing to maintain lane while in Dalton
