SUPERIOR, IOWA – A Northern Iowa man was stopped by police while allegedly driving erratically and intoxicated – with a young child in his car.
A traffic stop in Emmet County led to the arrest of a Estherville man on multiple charges on January 28, 2023. According to Emmet County Sheriff Mike Martens, at 8:30 PM that evening, the sheriff’s office received a complaint of an eastbound vehicle on highway 9 in the area of the City of Superior that was driving erratically and entering into the lane of oncoming traffic.
A short time later a sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle southbound on 375th Avenue and observed the vehicle was driving on a flat tire. Subsequently, the deputy initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver and minor child in the vehicle.
Upon investigation into the matter the driver, Thomas Contreras age (42) was placed under arrest and booked into the Emmet County Jail where he was charged with Operating while intoxicated, Child endangerment, Failure to provide proof of financial liability, No valid driver’s license and Reckless driving. The minor child age (7) was then turned over to the Iowa Department of Human Services for placement.
Later, a search warrant was then executed upon the vehicle where a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia were located. As a result of those findings, Contreras was also charged with possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) and possession of drug paraphernalia.