Drunk Driver Fills Mouth With Axe Body Spray in Bid to Fool Police

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office had a run-in with a drunk driver over the weekend. While there’s typically nothing funny about catching someone driving under the influence, fate saw fit to throw us a bone in this instance, as the encounter led to comical shenanigans involving Axe body spray.

Apparently, the driver decided to fill his mouth with the substance in an attempt to fool an approaching deputy.

Unfortunately for him, the ruse failed. Deputies reported that they witnessed the event in progress as they walked up to the vehicle and immediately noticed several open containers of alcohol the occupants had failed to hide.

While the story is being circulated on various automotive outlets through The Smoking Gun, the original story appears to have been broken by local news affiliates first. According to the reports, 49-year-old Efren Mencia-Ramirez was spotted speeding and weaving erratically on South Carolina’s I-85 on the night of March 23rd — encouraging deputies to conduct a traffic stop.

“Deputy Harakas advised me upon arrival that the driver and passenger had both been drinking beer,” explained one of the officers on scene. “Deputy Harakas stated that the driver passed him at a high race of speed and also swerved into his lane of travel. He stated the driver, later identified as Efren Mencia-Ramirez, was spraying Axe body spray into his mouth when he approach to cover the smell of alcohol on his breath. Deputy Harakas also gave me Mr. Mencia-Ramierz’s passport and stated he did not have a valid license.”

However, even if all the paperwork was in order and the smell of booze effectively masked by body spray (it wasn’t), the driver would still have found himself the subject of additional scrutiny.

“There was a 12 pack of Corona beer in the passenger floorboard. 11 of the 12 beers were open,” the deputy continued. “10 of them were almost completely empty and the 11th was approximately 1/3 full and open. There was a passenger in the vehicle, Mario Umana, who had an open beer between his legs. All open containers were within reach of the driver and front passenger of the vehicle.”

Officials charged the passenger in the car with open container. But the driver also faces driving without a license, driving with no proof of insurance, an open container violation, and driving under the influence.

“I walked Mr. Mencia-Ramirez back to my vehicle to speak with him,” recounted the deputy. “He had a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot. I asked him how many beers he drank and he stated one. Mr. Mencia-Ramierez only understood some of what I said however because he spoke very little english.”

Being plastered probably didn’t help with communications, either. Subsequent tests revealed that Mencia-Ramirez possessed blood alcohol content of 0.15, almost twice the legal limit. He was taken to Spartanburg County Jail, probably with some pretty wild-smelling breath, but the fate of the Axe body spray remains unknown.

[Image: Paul Biryukov/Shutterstock]