A late-night traffic stop in El Paso ended with two parents in handcuffs after deputies said the driver was drunk behind the wheel with two toddlers along for the ride. The car was pulled over shortly before 1 a.m., and following standardized field sobriety tests, the driver was arrested and the children, ages 2 and 3, were placed in protective custody, according to deputies.
According to KFOX14, deputies stopped the vehicle at about 12:50 a.m. after the driver allegedly failed to signal before a left turn and could not maintain a single lane. The driver, identified as 25-year-old Ricardo Rivera, showed signs of intoxication and was arrested. Breath samples later registered a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.204, investigators said. Rivera was booked on a charge of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 and was given a $2,000 bond at the Downtown Detention Facility.
What the law says
Under Texas law, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 15 is a state jail felony, as outlined in Texas Penal Code §49.045. The statute carries a potential sentence of 180 days to two years in a state jail facility and fines of up to $10,000. The law also allows officers to obtain chemical specimens when a child passenger is involved.
Mother charged, warrants issued
The sheriff's office said the children's mother, 29-year-old Cynthia Garcia, “placed the children in imminent danger.” Deputies obtained two warrants, one for each child, for abandoning or endangering a child. The warrants were issued with no bond, as reported by KFOX14. Garcia was booked into the Downtown Detention Facility, and according to the sheriff’s office, it was her second child-endangerment charge in the last three months.
Booking and next steps
Both adults were processed by the county. Rivera was held on the DWI with child passenger charge, with a bond set at $2,000, while Garcia's no-bond warrants mean she may remain jailed while her cases move forward. Family members can check custody status and facility contact information through the county's inmate search, according to the El Paso County Court's inmate search, which lists the Downtown Detention Facility at 601 East Overland.
Local context
The arrests come amid stepped-up enforcement on impaired driving with child passengers in the Borderland, a trend local outlets have highlighted in recent months. Similar stops have ended in felony charges when deputies find young children in the car, and for El Paso residents, this latest case is another reminder of how quickly a DWI can spiral when kids are involved.
