Cops: Driver Had Open Alcohol In Car While Dropping Off Child At School
RIVERSIDE, Ill. (STMW) -- A driver allegedly caught with alcohol in his car while dropping off a high school student Friday in west suburban Riverside had previously used a fake name to continue driving despite his prior DUI convictions, police claim.
A police officer on foot near Riverside Brookfield High School pulled the white Pontiac over about 8 a.m. Friday near Golf and Ridgewood roads, according to a release from Riverside police.
The driver allegedly went around the officer to make an illegal U-turn and nearly hit the officer, who was on duty watching for traffic violations near the high school, the release said.
Luis A. Rosa, 36, initially showed officers a Mexican passport bearing the name Victor H. Mendez, the release said. Police arrested him when records showed the driving permit for Mendez, issued in 1998, had expired.
Authorities also searched his car before it was towed, and found a bottle of Modelo beer and an open bottle of Grey Goose vodka, the release said. He was on his way to drop off a relative, who is a student at the nearby high school, when he was pulled over, according to police.
When authorites ran his fingerprints, they learned he had been arrested for DUI in 2007, also in Riverside, under the name Luis Rosa, the release said.
Police also learned Rosa's traffic history includes 15 alleged offenses, including two more DUI convictions in Hinsdale and Villa Park, as well as a 2009 DUI arrest in Countryside.
He allegedly told authorities he bought the Rosa ID from a vendor in Chicago more than 15 years ago using fake documentation, and that his real name was Victor Mendez, the release said.
He told authorities he used the false information to avoid police because of his prior DUI convictions, the release said.
He was booked under the name Luis A. Rosa, of the 8900 block of Burlington Avenue in Brookfield, and is charged with felony aggravated driving with a revoked license, obstruction of identification, illegally transporting alcohol, disobeying a traffic control device and disobeying a police officer, police said.
He allegedly used a fake name, birth date or Social Security number during most of his previous arrests, the release said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
