A suspected drunk driver, who had his 10-year-old son along for the ride, was charged with child abuse after leading police on a pursuit lateWednesday evening and crashing his pickup into two marked police units.
Cesar Juarez, 29, of the 1600 block of Mahaney Drive, is charged with one count of child abuse, two counts of aggravated battery against a peace officer and one count each of aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, aggravated driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and driving while license revoked.
At about 11 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, a Las Cruces Police officer spotted a white Chevrolet S-10 pickup traveling north on Mesquite Street. The pickup’s license plate lights were not working and the vehicle was traveling above the posted speed limit.
The officer activated his unit’s emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop but the driver of the S-10 failed to pull over and, instead, tried to elude the officer. The pursuit went through a residential neighborhood and onto Spruce Avenue where the driver, later identified as Juarez, crashed into the officer’s patrol vehicle.
The crash forced the S-10 to veer into the concrete center median on Picacho Avenue, and then into a 2007 Chevrolet pickup that happened to be in the area.
Juarez’s Chevy S-10 continued westbound on Picacho but made a U-turn where another LCPD officer was able to briefly immobilize the pickup. As the officer attempted to exit his unit, Juarez’s revved his engine and crashed into that patrol vehicle.
It was at that time that officers noticed a young boy, identified as Juarez’s 10-year-old son, in the pickup.
No injuries were reported. The young boy was turned over to the custody of a relative.
Juarez was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he is being held on a $10,000 bond.
Information from Las Cruces Police