Mohave Daily News: Local

KINGMAN - Danger could await a passenger who finds themselves alone without a ride if the driver is arrested for driving drunk.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 29, Dustin William Shamblin, 21, was walking northbound in the right lane of Highway 95 between Hulet and Jerome avenues when he was struck and killed, an Arizona Department of Public Safety report stated.

Shamblin and Regina Guarisco, 20, of Fort Mojave attended a Halloween party and were on their way home when Guarisco was stopped and arrested by sheriff deputies for misdemeanor driving under the influence, driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level more than 0.08 percent and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Guarisco was taken to county jail and the car towed leaving Shamblin, who was also intoxicated, alone on the roadway.

Mohave County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Trish Carter said the deputy who arrested Guarisco offered to call for a ride for Shamblin but he declined saying he could get his own ride.

Shamblin's mother previously said her son was not carrying a cell phone and had no way to call for a ride.

Carter said it is not the sheriff's office policy to take passengers of a DUI arrest home but will call for a ride on the passenger's behalf. Deputies still have to book the drunken driver into custody and proceed to other calls.

It is the sheriff's office policy to automatically tow a vehicle when a driver is arrested for extreme or aggravated DUI, is younger than 21 years old and under the influence of alcohol, has their license revoked or suspended or been involved in a collision that cause injury, death or property damage, Carter said.

A car can be released to the driver's spouse who has a valid license and is not impaired by alcohol. In some cases, a passenger can get a ride with a tow truck driver, Carter said.

Some cities may have public intoxication laws but in the county, it is not against the law to walk down a street while under the influence of alcohol, Carter said.

“No law enforcement officer can interfere with a citizen's constitutional right to walk along a highway even though they may have been drinking, unless there is a reason to believe a crime is being committed,” Carter said.