On Sunday, April 16th, 2023, at 1:35 am, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported weapon offense that had just occurred at the intersection of N Berkeley Ave and E Springer Dr, Turlock, after a man had reportedly brandished a knife at an off-duty officer with a nearby agency after having been involved in a collision.

While officers were responding, they received an update that the man was displaying objective symptoms of being under the influence, had pushed the off-duty officer, and was fleeing the area on foot.

The sheriff’s airship which was nearby at the time was able to get overhead, get eyes on the man, and follow him to his nearby residence in the 4200 block of Silver Lupine Dr.

The man went into his backyard, however, was given orders through the sheriff’s airship’s loudspeaker to come out to the street with his hands up. He complied and was detained by officers as they arrived.

Officers made contact with the man’s mother at the front door and she identified him as David Barraza, 32, of Turlock.

Barraza was asked if he was willing to participate in standardized field sobriety tests, however, he refused.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, officers determined that Barraza was under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested.

Other officers then arrived at the collision scene and found that Barraza’s silver 2017 Honda Civic had crashed into the roundabout and sustained minor damage.

Officers interviewed the off-duty officer who stated that Barazza had not actually brandished a knife at him, he just simply had one in his possession, however, did push him. The off-duty officer refused to be a battery victim, however, was taken to Barazza to see if he would be able to positively identify him as the driver of the vehicle. He was.

Barazza was transported to a local hospital to provide a blood sample as required by California’s implied consent law and be medically cleared. Afterward, he was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and fleeing the scene of an accident resulting in property damage. Additionally, he was issued an administrative driver’s license suspension order by the California Department of Motor Vehicles and his vehicle was impounded.

It’s currently unknown how the collision occurred.