Petaluma police arrest man asleep at the wheel, idling at gas pump

Petaluma police arrested a Contra Costa County man with an extensive criminal background on suspicion of possessing stolen property at a gas station after he allegedly passed out in the driver’s seat of an untagged car with the engine running at the pump for more than a half-hour.

A police officer noticed the early-2000s Acura without license plates sitting idle at the East Washington Street gas station around 10 p.m. Sunday and approached the vehicle after more than 30 minutes. Jaime Domingo Flores, 47, of Pittsburg, was asleep at the wheel, his foot on the brake while the transmission was in drive, with drug paraphernalia in plain sight on the car console, police said.

Once awake, Flores admitted to drug use, police said. Officers searched the car and discovered burglary tools, shaved vehicle keys used to steal cars, a replica pistol and government IDs and other personal information not in Flores’ name. A printer and computer suspected of containing digital evidence of potential identity theft were also seized from the car, police said.

Flores has a history of criminal charges that includes forgery and identify theft, police said. He was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail.

There was no record of Flores at the jail Tuesday and an appearance date has yet to be posted in Sonoma County Court.

Police are analyzing the seized evidence and will follow up with possible identity theft victims, which may lead to more charges against Flores.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.