19-year-old accused of driving drunk in a jail parking garage, South Dakota cops say

When a 19-year-old was arrested on a DUI charge March 2 in Rapid City, South Dakota, the arresting officer did not have to travel far to book the teen into jail.

They were already there.

An officer in Rapid City was pulling into the Pennington County Jail booking area around 5:30 a.m. when he saw a vehicle pull in behind him with front-end damage, according to police.

After the driver narrowly made it into the garage before the security gate closed, he got out of his vehicle and told the officer he needed help regarding the damage to his car.

That’s when the officer noticed the 19-year-old driver had slurred speech and the smell of alcohol was emitting from him, Rapid City police said.

Officers conducted a DUI investigation and he subsequently was charged with driving under the influence. The driver was walked into the Pennington County Jail.

This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 4:07 PM with the headline "19-year-old accused of driving drunk in a jail parking garage, South Dakota cops say."