SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – New video Tuesday showed the bizarre things a man told deputies before he was arrested for drunk driving.
The suspect had been through this before, but this time, video showed that even getting out of his car was challenging for him.
“Step out of the car,” a deputy told Felipe Ortega, 58, on Mon., May 23.
“Yes, sir,” Ortega replied.
“Take off your seat belt. You gotta take off your seat belt first,” the deputy instructed Ortega to no avail.
While Ortega continued trying to wiggle his way out of his seatbelt, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies unbuckled it for him.
It appears that two deputies have to carry Ortega to help him walk away from his truck.
This followed a report from a witness that the suspected drunk driver plowed through a street sign on Highway 599 near I-25 in Santa Fe.
“Did you crash?” a deputy asked.
“No… I don’t know,” Ortega responded.
He did know one thing for certain though.
“How much alcohol have you had today? How many beers?” a deputy asked.
“I’ve had a lot of beer,” he said.
Throughout the interaction, deputies seemed to struggle to understand Ortega.
“You’re feral?” a deputy asked, trying to make sure he heard Ortega correctly.
“Yes,” Ortega said.
“Like a cat?” the deputy asked again.
Video showed Ortega also had trouble with the field sobriety tests.
Deputies arrested Ortega for a fourth-offense aggravated DWI, careless driving, driving with a revoked license and an open container.
Online records show Ortega is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in court on Wednesday morning in Santa Fe.
Ortega has made headlines before. After his third DWI, he sued Bernalillo County because he said corrections officers illegally destroyed medical marijuana plants that a judge allowed him to grow. The county denied those allegations and that lawsuit is still pending.
