Officers arrested a Woodstock man who was so intoxicated he could not remember his birth date and told them he was “[expletive] wasted” while driving with his 9-month-old in the car in Woodstock, prosecutors said.
A Woodstock Police Department officer initiated a traffic stop after observing a black Ford Explorer whose driver was not wearing a seatbelt around 3:15 p.m. Monday, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Prosecutors said the driver, identified as Ramiro A. Sanchez, 33, of Woodstock, struggled to answer basic identification questions after the traffic stop was conducted.
He could not spell his own name or remember his birth date, court documents said.
The officer asked Sanchez why and he reportedly responded, “I’m f—ing wasted.”
Sanchez failed to successfully perform standard field sobriety tests and exhibited multiple physical signs of impairment, prosecutors said.
The officer also observed two open “tallboy” cans of beer inside the vehicle in the center console area, court documents said.
Officers found that Sanchez’s 9-month-old daughter was inside the vehicle at the time of the stop.
Prosecutors said the arrest was Sanchez’s sixth driving under the influence offense.
He has been convicted on five prior occasions of driving under the influence of alcohol, including four in Colorado, with the first in 2014, two in 2015, one in 2016, and one in DeKalb County in 2020.
Sanchez is facing charges of aggravated driving under the influence sixth or subsequent offense with a child passenger, aggravated driving under the influence on a revoked or suspended license, child endangerment and reckless conduct.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Sanchez while he awaits trial, arguing he poses a real and present danger to the community.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the request following an Initial Appearance Court hearing on Tuesday.
Lamb said Sanchez showed an “extreme and immediate threat” to the infant and the public.
The man’s license was revoked for one of his prior DUIs and he was on supervision and probation as well.
“This man’s decision to drive while intoxicated for a sixth time showed a complete disregard for the law, the safety of the public, and even the life of his own child,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said.
“Every impaired driver is a danger, but when someone chooses to get behind the wheel allegedly admitting to being ‘wasted’ with a 9-month-old child in the vehicle, the risk of tragedy becomes unbearable,” Freese said.
“We are grateful the Court granted our petition to detain this defendant pending trial, and our office will continue aggressively prosecuting repeat DUI offenders before more innocent lives are put at risk,” she added.
Sanchez, who faces up to 30 years in prison, remains held in the McHenry County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on May 26.