A Florida man was arrested Tuesday after he was clocked going 80 mph in a 45-mph zone in suburban Boynton Beach, then tossed out an alcoholic beverage out his vehicle window after a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy pulled up behind him, according to an arrest report.
Jose A. Soto-Mendenez, 50, is facing charges of DUI, battery on an officer, resisting arrest with violence and marijuana possession. After his arrest, he told deputies the marijuana was for his personal use and that he smoked weed every half-hour, the arrest report said.
A deputy patrolling the area said he caught Soto-Mendenez’s SUV traveling at 73 mph and then 80 mph in a 45-mph zone. As the SUV made a left turn, Mendenez tossed what appeared to be a can of beer out the passenger window, the report said.
The deputy picked up the container, which turned out to be a can of Four Loko, a controversial caffeinated alcoholic energy drink, the arrest report said. The beverage is known as “blackout in a can” and has resulted in numerous hospitalizations and other incidents.
The “Four” in the drink’s name stands for its quartet of ingredients: caffeine, alcohol, the Brazilian stimulant guarana and the animal-derived stimulant taurine, which is also used in energy drinks like Red Bull. The alcohol is malt liquor.
The report stated that Soto-Mendenez told deputies he consumed two Four Loko cans at a friend’s house, and that he refused a breath test. He allegedly kicked a deputy twice in the chest after his arrest, the report said. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail late Tuesday.
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