Harris County Precinct 4 deputies spent the Fourth of July weekend running a full-scale DWI sweep, arresting 25 people suspected of driving while intoxicated across the precinct. The operation, which spanned one of the busiest travel stretches of the year, included several upgraded charges, including multiple cases involving a child younger than 15 in the vehicle. Precinct 4 officials said the holiday push was aimed at cutting down on potential DWI crashes before they happened.
According to KPRC, the constable’s office identified four people charged with Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Under 15: Berry Harris, Alyssa Todd, Jamarh Derry and Patrick Wireman. Five others were booked on DWI second-offense charges: Juan Sanchez, Tamika Baines, Rudy Martinez, Kenneth Pulliam and Kelvin Tillman. Deputies made the stops after observing traffic violations, then conducted standardized field sobriety tests before making arrests. The constable’s office characterized the effort as a proactive safety campaign to keep holiday traffic a little less chaotic.
The agency also took the operation online. Officials shared photos and case details on social media and urged residents to download its C4 Now mobile app for live crime and traffic alerts, according to the department’s Facebook. The advisory said deputies observed signs of intoxication before taking each suspect into custody and included multiple booking photos and location snapshots, part of a broader push to use social feeds and the app to show what enforcement looks like on the ground.
Charges and penalties
Under Texas law, driving while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 15 is a state jail felony, and a conviction can mean 180 days to two years behind bars plus fines, according to Texas Penal Code §49.045 and the state’s punishment statutes. Prosecutors do not need an accident or injury to file that felony charge; the child’s presence in the vehicle is what elevates the offense. The constable’s advisory also noted that everyone arrested is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, a point reiterated in coverage by KPRC.
Warrants and blood draws
Texas Transportation Code §724.012 allows officers to require a breath or blood specimen in certain DWI arrests, including cases involving a child passenger, and spells out when a sample can be taken immediately or after securing a warrant. That framework helps explain why many agencies run so-called “no-refusal” enforcement periods around major holidays, when prosecutors and judges are on standby to move warrants quickly if a suspect refuses testing. The full language is laid out in Texas Transportation Code §724.012.
Holiday enforcement and safety campaigns
State and local agencies routinely beef up impaired-driving patrols around the July Fourth holiday. This year, TxDOT rolled out its “Drive Sober. No Regrets.” campaign and said extra enforcement would run through July 6, according to KGNS. Local departments layered in additional patrols and no-refusal initiatives to get suspected impaired drivers off the road, and Precinct 4’s weekend operation was part of that bigger statewide push.
Precinct 4 said the arrests will move through the Harris County court system and urged anyone with tips or concerns to contact its dispatch and follow its social channels and the C4 Now app for updates, according to the precinct’s Facebook. The office said the primary goal is removing impaired drivers from the road and reminded residents to line up a sober ride before heading out to celebrate.
