19-Year-Old Girl with Multiple Open Containers Arrested for DWI on Halloween

Around 8:33 PM on October 31, 2025, Officer Austin Theuret with the Franklin Township Police Department (Gloucester County) located a 2010 Hyundai that matched a caller’s description of an erratic vehicle. He began pursuing the vehicle, and the driver was swerving across lanes. Based on his suspicion of impairment, he activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, and the driver pulled over in the vicinity of E Wheat Road and N East Avenue in Vineland.

Officer Tiyon Cephas with the Vineland Police Department then arrived on scene and took over the investigation. He first made contact with Officer Theuret, who informed him that he detected the odor of alcohol and observed multiple open containers inside the vehicle. Officer Cephas then walked over and made contact with the driver of the Hyundai, who was identified as 19-year-old Jessica Arriaga-Cruz.

As he was speaking with Jessica, Officer Cephas observed open containers inside the vehicle and detected the odor of alcohol. Jessica told the officer that she was heading home from Shore Beauty School. Since he suspected that Jessica may be impaired, she was asked to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exercises.

Officer Miller started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. The third exercise was the One Leg Stand test. The fourth exercise was the Lack of Convergence test. The final exercise was the Modified Romberg Balance test.

Based on her traffic infractions, the open containers of alcohol inside her vehicle, and her performance on the field sobriety exercises, Jessica was placed under arrest for DWI. A search of her vehicle incident to arrest yielded the presence of open containers. Her vehicle was impounded for a 12-hour hold according to John’s Law, while Officer Cephas transported Jessica to the Vineland Police Department for further processing.

At the station, the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators was read to her, and she agreed to submit breath samples. Her Alcotest results indicated a BAC level of 0.121%. After they finished processing Jessica, she was released to her mother pending her court appearance after she signed the Potential Liability Warning form on Jessica’s behalf.

Officer Cephas issued Jessica the following traffic tickets:

-Operating under the influence (39:4-50)

-Operating under the influence underage (39:4-50.14)

-Reckless driving (39:4-96)

-Following too closely (39:4-89)

-Traffic on marked lanes (39:4-88)

-Open container (39:4-51B)

Court records indicate that on December 17, 2025, Jessica pleaded guilty to operating under the influence underage (39:4-50.14). As a result of her guilty plea, her license was revoked for 30 days, while she had to spend 12 hours at an intoxicated driver resource center, perform 15 days of community service, and pay a total of $33 in fines. The other 5 citations were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

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