Posted on 01/12/2011 8:21:14 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
Two men were arrested for driving while intoxicated on 6th Street Friday night. One was riding a horse, while the other was riding a mule.
Austin police say the ment were both intoxicated. They were apparently trying to lure people out of bars and into the street to take pictures with them and their farm animals.
Bartender Brian Matthews thought he'd seen everything, that is until he walked outside to have a cigarette Friday night.
"There were these two guys on horses, or mules, or something, outside of Shakespeare's," he said. "(It) looked like they were being pulled over for a DUI."
Jose Rios, 33, and sidekick, Samuel Olivo, Jr., 48, parked their horse trailer near I-35 and 12th Street. They rode their mule and horse down to 6th Street, inviting peole to take pictures with them and their four-legged beasts.
Police video shows the two being stopped by officers. In the video, Rios appeared to be so intoxicated that he couldn't even finish his sobriety test.
Austin police arrested the pair for DWI.
"The law has recently changed and the motor vehicle definition is a little ambiguous, but they felt that it would fit that criteria," said Commander Jason Dusterhoft, of the Austin Police Department.
The DWI charges may be lowered to public intoxication.
"In the city of Austin it is legal to ride a horse on a public street," said Commander Dusterhoft. "What we were obviously concerned about is them being intoxicated, inviting people out into the street causing a danger, causing a danger ... to themselves, the public, the horses."
"Well, it was unusual. You certainly don't get these types of arrests. This is the first time I've ever encountered this," said Tony Plohetski, a writer for the Austin American Statesman who first reported the story. "I think one of the big questions that I think a lot of people are going to have is, was this really against the law? Is it against the law to be intoxicated going down a city street on a farm animal? And there are, from the best I can tell, different opinions about that."
One of the cowboys was so intoxicated that police say he had to be hospitalized. The animals were taken to animal control and it isn't clear if they're back with their owner.
That's hadn't occurred to me. But now that you mention it...
How do you say "fag" in Spanish?
I recall when an escapee from the Arizona State Penitentiary in Florence stole a horse from the yard of a nearby house to effect his getaway.
Whoops! Arizona was part of the Wild West, where stealing a man’s horse was often to condemn him to death in the wilderness. The laws on horse theft reflect that, and the guy ended up getting a much longer sentence added on than if he had merely swiped a car.
You can get a DWI on a bicycle or in a wheelchair in a lot of states.
Maricon. Or Ganso. Anyone know if Pacino called anyone a “maricon” in Scarface? He insulted everyone. WASP phonies. Guineas.
Reminds me recently of TV presenter Gary Collins stiffing a local restaurant in Mississippi for a steak dinner. Serious stuff in MS as it is a felony over $25 or something for walking out on a restaurant tab.
Yep, revenue generation.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess these two might just be here illegally.
Probably the *real* reason the judge let them off the DWI charges.
Hold my beer and watch this.
To everyone speculating that these guys were illegals: there are lots of native Texans with surnames of Rios and Olivo. In fact, three of Texas’ Founding Fathers were named Ruis, Navarro and de Zavala.
When I’m looking for illegals I go for the little tell-tales: 1) doesn’t speak English; 2) doesn’t have a driver’s license; 3) carries no insurance; 4) demands (loudly, in Spanish) every possible government service known to man.
But then I’m just been a naturalized Texan for 27 years.
Ping for a fun read!
Guess the one guy was drunk off his ass.
The Texas DWI law incorporates the following definition, which gives lots of leeway for horses, jackasses, bicycles, skateboards, and roller skates, if "device" includes trained animals:
Sec. 32.34, Texas Penal Code
(a) In this section:
(2) "Motor vehicle" means a device in, on, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except a device used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks.
The other giveaway that these are our own home-grown drunks is that they don’t use two last names. Mexicans invariably give a patronym then a matronym, which causes no end of trouble in American computer databases.
I've live here all my life and worked in many different construction fields, BTW. I don't give a crap what their last name is, they look (and act) *illegal* to me.
I can’t drink in the barn.The horses keep stealing my beer.
Late word in: One of the *cowboys* was held for immigration officials and the other released.
We have de facto prohibition in this country and this time it was done without amending the Constitution.
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