Lucky driver collects charges, breaks

ALBUQUERUQE (KRQE) - In the five years Patricia Carvalho has been able to legally drink, she’s not only racked up a regular history of boozing and driving, she’s also caught some lucky breaks, according to police and court records.

"She is one of our career chronic offenders," said Linda Atkinson, executive director of the DWI Resource Center in Albuquerque.

Carvalho, 26, of Albuquerque received her first DWI in 2008 just three months after her 21st birthday. Her breath alcohol content was twice the legal driving limit, and she was found guilty at trial, according to court documents.

The state ordered her to install an ignition interlock in her car for a year.

But in 2011, Carvalho was arrested for aggravated DWI after she nearly clipped a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy’s car, according to a police report. When a deputy asked her if she’d been drinking alcohol, she said, “Yes, I had quite a few,” the police report states.

Carvalho blew a 0.22 at the time, which is nearly three times the legal driving limit, according to the report. In addition, she tested positive for cocaine five months later and was re-arrested, court documents state.

But before her case made it to trial, the arresting deputy left for military duty overseas and couldn’t make it for trial, so the state dismissed the charges.

"When we don't have the evidence the state can't go forward," said District Attorney Kari Brandenburg.

But police said Carvalho's drinking and driving history doesn't end there.

Last August an Albuquerque police officer pulled her over at San Mateo Boulevard and Central Avenue at 2:30 a.m., according to a police report. She was "very intoxicated" with "blood shot watery eyes" and slurred speech,” the report states. Carvalho even admitted consuming three drinks of alcohol.

But when the officer took her license and went to his car to call a DWI officer, she sped off. Carvalho raced through a Walmart parking lot and ran several stop signs before the officer lost her, the report states.

"This could have been a very fatal mistake,” Atkinson said. “She could have killed someone else. She could have killed herself, anyone in her vehicle.”

Because officers never tested Carvalho for DWI, they couldn't charge her with it.

KRQE News 13 caught up Carvalho at her Albuquerque apartment. At first she denied ever being arrested for drunken driving. But when a reporter asked if she had seen any of her mug shots, her story changed.

"Well I got arrested but I'm not going to talk to you about it," she said.

Carvalho was eventually summoned to court for running a red light, resisting arrest and reckless driving for the latest incident. She is expected to go to trial next month.

Atkinson questioned why the APD left a suspected drunk driver in a car giving her the opportunity to flee.

"It shows the impairment of someone who is out there to do what they want and ignore the law completely," Atkinson said.

An APD spokesperson said there's no set policy when to leave a suspected drunken driver in his or her car. Officers make that decision on a case-by-case basis.

Brandenburg said even though Carvalho has only been convicted of one DWI, a judge could still help change her behavior and wake her up.

"A judge might be tougher given her background," she said.