A 48-year-old Stafford man, who started his Saint Patrick’s celebration early, was caught red handed with a blue bottle in his hand.

On March 14th at approximately 2:51 a.m. Deputy S.A. Edwards responded to Wawa, located at 72 Austin Park Drive, for a drunk driver complaint. It was advised a Mercedes was blocking two of the gas pumps with the driver slumped over.

When Deputy Edwards arrived, the Mercedes was still in drive with the only thing stopping it from rolling was the driver’s foot on the brake. Deputy Edwards attempted to make contact with the driver when he discovered the driver was still asleep. Not only that, but the driver had an open Bud Light in his hand. The now awake driver was caught red handed as he had multiple signs of intoxication. Deputies would review camera footage to confirm the driver drove to the business.

The driver, Rico Norman, was detained. Within the vehicle, deputies observed additional bottles of beer. Deputies would also discover this was not Norman’s first offense for he had previous DUI convictions. Norman was charged with driving under the influence third offense within ten years. He was held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.