A 33-year-old Salinas man has been sentenced to three years in state prison for his seventh driving under the influence (DUI) conviction, a record that includes four felony DUI offenses within the past decade.
The individual, identified as Carlos Alvarez, was arrested on a felony DUI charge following an incident in June 2025, according to a press release from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. He was taken into custody at an In-N-Out restaurant in Salinas after a security guard alerted California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers to a driver found asleep at the wheel in the drive-thru lane.
Upon making contact with Alvarez, CHP officers detected a strong odor of urine, vomit, and an alcoholic beverage emanating from inside the vehicle, as stated by prosecutors. Alvarez's arrest on a felony DUI charge was predicated on his history of prior convictions.
The district attorney’s office has not disclosed the specific sentences, if any, that were imposed on Alvarez for his previous DUI offenses. The case was investigated by the CHP and subsequently prosecuted by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office’s specialized DUI Vertical Prosecution Unit.
