OKC Man Accused Of Driving Drunk With Toddler In Car

Oklahoma City Police say a homeless man took off with his ex-girlfriend's grandson, but later turned up extremely intoxicated and behind the wheel of a car.

The grandmother told police she had to go to work the morning of December 23. Her ex-boyfriend, 54-year-old Alonzo Walton, was at her home to do some repair work and laundry, so she asked him to watch the boy, who is under 2 years old. The woman also gave Walton permission to use her car.

When the grandmother called a few hours later to check on the child, Walton told her he dropped the boy off at his adult daughter's house. Around 7 p.m., Walton called again and said he was heading back to the grandmother's house with some food, but he never arrived.

The grandmother became worried and called police. According to a police report, officers were not able to contact Walton. They also discovered he'd picked up the child from his daughter's house. Police obtained approval to locate Walton through his cell phone, but before they could do that an officer spotted Walton driving into to the grandmother's apartment complex.

The officer approached the car and saw the child was in the front seat, unrestrained. In his report, the officer said Walton got out of the car, walked unsteadily to the passenger's side, picked up the boy, and walked toward the stairs. The officer said Walton was so unsteady, he stopped him before he reached the stairs and took the child from him.

The officer watched Walton walk to the apartment. The officer said he returned the boy to his grandmother then began questioning Walton. In his report, the officer noted Walton smelled strongly of alcohol and heavily slurred his speech. But when he asked Walton how much he'd had to drink the man said he'd only consumed one beer.

The officer detained Walton. When he searched the suspect, he found two devices that appeared to be used for smoking marijuana. The officer also administered a breath test to Walton. According to the device, Walton's blood alcohol content was .22, more than double the legal limit of .08.

Walton was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County jail for child endangerment, DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, and child restraint violation. Walton was also wanted in Tulsa County for an outstanding DUI warrant.