CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi Police Department officer is facing DWI charges after being found passed out at a drive-thru this weekend.
Donnie Mersing, Jr., 51, was arrested at 3:08 a.m Saturday. According to court documents, officers were dispatched to the Whataburger on the 4000 block of IH-69. An off-duty officer said he found Mersing sitting in the driver seat of his truck, asleep in the drive-thru.
That off-duty officer said Whataburger staff told him Mersing had ordered and was passed out between the two drive-thru windows. The off-duty officer walked outside and started hitting the the vehicle window to wake up Mersing.
According to the report, "it took him awhile to wake up but when he did he found that Mersing seemed out of it."
The off-duty officer had Mersing pull into a parking stall in order to clear the line of vehicles waiting behind him.
Once Mersing pulled into a parking spot, he handed the officer his driver's license and his Corpus Christi Police Department's identification card.
When an officer with the Corpus Christi Police Department arrived, she found that Mersing had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
According to the report, he "had an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting for his person."
Mersing told the officer he had been up since 5:30 a.m. He was tired and fell asleep. Mersing said he just stopped at Whataburger to get a breakfast burger and was heading back home.
According to the report, Mersing told the officer he was coming from his home. He also said he had a six-pack of Bud Light around noon and also had a beer with dinner.
Mersing was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He was taken to the City Detention Center where he refused to provide a breath specimen.
A judge set Mersing's bond at $2,500. He bonded out of the Nueces County Jail later that day.
There's no word yet on Mersing's status with the Corpus Christi Police Department.
This story was originally published by Veronica "Ronnie" Flores on KRIS.
