California man who fell asleep drunk in In-N-Out drive-thru to serve prison time

A 33-year-old Castroville man was sentenced to three years in prison after he fell asleep while drunk in a Salinas In-N-Out drive-thru line last year.

Read more Court filings reveal extent of censorship in nation’s national parks

A security guard flagged down officers from the California Highway Patrol on June 22 and told them there was a possible drunk driver at the popular fast-food restaurant located on Kern Street, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The officers approached the man, identified as Carlos Alvarez, and they smelled a “strong pungent order of urine, vomit, and an alcoholic beverage” from the car.

Alvarez was arrested for a felony DUI because of his history of previous convictions, including four in the last 10 years and seven total throughout his life, according to the district attorney’s office. Alvarez was given the “maximum possible sentence” for his conviction, the DA’s office said. 

Alvarez was sentenced to three years in state prison in 2023 for his sixth DUI conviction. The case stemmed from a July 2022 incident in which he was unresponsive behind the wheel at the intersection of John and Work streets in Salinas. Authorities said he had “bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, unsteady gait, and the odor of alcohol emitting from his breath,” with a blood alcohol content of .22 percent. 

Read more Braves acquire catcher Joey Bart from Pirates for pitcher Hunter Stratton

This also wasn’t the only time a drunk driver was caught in the In-N-Out drive-thru line. In March 2025, a man at the Petaluma location was stopped and questioned as he drove out of the line. The 26-year-old driver then drove away to evade police, but eventually crashed during the chase and was arrested.