Sonoma man, 23, passes out in Taco Bell drive-through lane

A Sonoma man missed an early-morning snack Tuesday after he passed out in the drive-through lane at a Taco Bell restaurant in Petaluma. He became cranky with police and wound up in jail.

Officers arriving about 1:30 a.m. found the driver, identified as Abel Macedonio-Gutierrez, 23, parked in the lane at the restaurant in the 400 block of East Washington Street, Petaluma police Sgt. Lance Novello said in a press release.

The man, who was uncooperative, “displayed signs of impairment” after he had to be removed from his vehicle without force, Novello said.

He denied drinking or using drugs and refused to submit to any tests or attempts to evaluate his condition, even after an officer’s “exhaustive explanations of the potential consequences,” including his release without charges if found to be unimpaired, Novello said.

Macedonio-Gutierrez was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and refused to allow a blood test required under state vehicle code. Officers obtained a search warrant from a judge and obtained the blood sample.

Macedonio-Gutierrez was booked into the Sonoma County Jail and will face a one-year suspension of his driver’s license for refusing the blood test, Novello said.

--Guy Kovner