20-Year-Old Arrested for SECOND DWI in Ocean Township, NJ

Around 11:25 PM on April 14, 2024, Patrolman Quinn Schulhafer with the Township of Ocean Police Department observed a black 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee driving at a high rate of speed and drifting over the white fog line near the Asbury Circle. He started to follow the vehicle and activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop. The driver pulled over inside the BP gas station located at 2415 SR-66 Patrolman Quinn proceeded to make contact with the driver of the Jeep, who was identified as 20-year-old Suzanna Ruiz-Rojas.

Patrolman Quinn asked Suzanna where she was coming from and whether she had been drinking. Suzanna told the officer that she was heading home from a friend’s house and admitted to having 2 drinks before operating a motor vehicle. As he was speaking with her, he detected the odor of alcohol and noticed that her hand movements were slow and fumbling. A search of her motor vehicle records indicated that she had previously been arrested for DWI in 2023. Based on his suspicion of impairment, Patrolman Quinn asked Suzanne to perform field sobriety exercises after running her information through the system.

Patrolman Quinn started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, and he observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation in both eyes, along with the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees in the left eye. The second field sobriety exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Suzanna did not touch heel-to-toe on each step and turned improperly. The last field sobriety exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During this exercise, Suzanna failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and used her arms for balance.

Based on her erratic driving, the odor of alcohol, her admission to consuming alcohol, and her inability to adequately complete the field sobriety exercises, Patrolman Quinn placed Suzanna under arrest for driving under the influence. A search of the vehicle incident to arrest yielded open containers of Modelo beer, which were emptied and discarded in the garbage can at the gas station. Her vehicle was impounded for a mandatory 12-hour hold under John’s Law and Suzanna was transported to the Township of Ocean Police Department for further processing. At police HQ, Patrolman Quinn read the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators to Suzanna, and she agreed to submit breath samples. Her Alcotest results indicated a BAC of 0.10%, which was 5 times the legal limit of 0.02% for drivers under the age of 21.

Once the officers were finished with processing Suzanna, she was released a sober adult after they signed the Potential Liability Warning form on her behalf. Patrolman Quinn issued her the following summonses: Operating under the influence, reckless driving, careless driving, traffic on marked lanes, and open container of alcohol

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