Richard Carrillo
Nevada Assemblyman Richard Carrillo, D-Las Vegas, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possessing a firearm while intoxicated, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said.
According to Carrillo’s arrest report he was arrested around 3 a.m. Friday after deputies were called to a parking lot on Proctor Street near North Carson Street.
The officer reported the strong odor of alcohol on Carrillo’s breath, and wrote Carrillo had a loaded .22-caliber pistol in his front pocket.
Carrillo posted $6,000 bail at the Carson City jail on Friday morning. Carrillo didn’t immediately return a phone message or email seeking comment.
The arresting officer wrote he found Carrillo asleep in the unreclined driver’s seat with his hand on the gear shift and his foot apparently on the pedal, with the heater running.
While the vehicle wasn’t moving, Furlong said, he faces a DUI because he was in control of the vehicle and could have driven away.
Carrillo reportedly told the officer he had a few drinks, but declined to take a breath test on the scene.
He took a blood test at the jail, according to the report. The results were still pending.
A first-time DUI conviction likely means a fine and a suspended license, Furlong said. It could also lead to the revocation of a concealed weapons permit.
Furlong said Carrillo bailed out of jail Friday morning. His legislative office was locked and dark.
Democratic Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick said the issue was a “personal matter” and didn’t say whether she would ask him to resign, the Associated Press reported.
The Legislature can discipline its members, according to Legislative Counsel Bureau Chief Rick Combs, but it was too early to tell whether that would happen.
Carrillo is a member of the Assembly Government Affairs Committee, but didn’t attend the panel’s Friday morning meeting. He was first elected in 2010.
In his legislative biography, Carrillo notes he’s affiliated with the National Rifle Association. He was a featured speaker at “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose,” an anti-DUI event held in Las Vegas in 2011, according to his campaign website.
Furlong said arrests involving lawmakers are rare.
“Our legislators are normally very well-behaved,” he said.