BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said one of its sergeants has been placed on administrative leave after she was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI).
In a statement, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said Veronica Valensuela Sanchez, 44, was taken into custody just after 2:15 a.m. by the San Antonio Police Department.
Sanchez, a 13-year BCSO veteran, has been placed on paid administrative leave “pending termination,” the spokesperson said Tuesday.
In a preliminary report obtained by KSAT Investigates, SAPD said multiple officers were patrolling the downtown area, specifically the intersection of Broadway and Third Street. Police said the officers observed a vehicle driven by Sanchez “violating several traffic laws.”
Authorities witnessed Sanchez make at least one “improper lane change” as well as speeding before a traffic stop was conducted, police said.
An officer initiated a field sobriety test, which led them to arrest Sanchez on DWI suspicion, the SAPD report states.
According to court records, Sanchez’s suspicion of a DWI charge — a Class A misdemeanor — is for a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of greater than or equal to 0.15. In Texas, the BAC legal limit to drive is 0.08. A judge set Sanchez’s bond at $2,000.
Sanchez was officially booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center just before 8:30 a.m. Jail records show she was released on bond at 10:53 a.m.
In addition to SAPD’s ongoing criminal investigation, BCSO said it has initiated an internal investigation.
“Sergeant (Veronica) Sanchez has been a popular and respected member of this agency,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement. “Rightfully, we hold all of our deputies to a higher standard, even more so when they hold a supervisory rank. I do not expect her career to survive this huge violation of the public trust.”
According to a KSAT Investigates analysis, Sanchez is the second BCSO employee arrested this year.
In January, the sheriff’s office terminated Shanaye Marie Edwards, 37, after she was accused of interfering with public duties, a Class B misdemeanor charge, during a disturbance call at a home in the 3700 block of Amber Leaf in west Bexar County.
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