Arkansas man accused of shooting from pickup while driving drunk

Vicente Garcia-Perez
Vicente Garcia-Perez

An Arkansas man who fled from authorities was arrested after officers found empty beer cans and shell casings in his vehicle Sunday, court records show.

Rogers Police Department officers responded about 2:30 p.m. to the area of Breckenridge Loop and Pleasant Ridge Road, where multiple callers had reported hearing several gunshots, an affidavit stated. One caller reported seeing a red Chevrolet Avalanche speeding off.

Police reportedly found and followed the pickup. The driver, Vicente Garcia-Perez, accelerated, reaching an estimated 50 mph through a construction zone, according to the affidavit.

Eventually, Garcia-Perez pulled over, and police approached the 35-year-old, whose eyes were said to be glassy and bloodshot. An officer reported smelling intoxicants on his breath.

Officers wrote that they saw an AR-15 rifle in the rear seat of the truck, though Garcia-Perez had said he was unarmed. The gun was warm to the touch and smelled of freshly burned gunpowder, the affidavit stated.

Police also reportedly found empty boxes of ammunition and spent casings as well as several empty beer cans in the pickup.

Garcia-Perez was being held in lieu of $25,000 bond at the Benton County jail as of Tuesday afternoon, records show. He is charged with discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to intoxication test and possession of an open container.

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