TV Reporter Charged With DWI, Allegedly Couldn’t Recite Alphabet

A San Antonia, Texas based-TV reporter is facing a Class B misdemeanor after he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. John Paul Barajas, a reporter for KSAT-TV, was taken into police custody just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5 after an officer saw him driving 82 mph in a 65-mph zone, according to a police affidavit, per the San Antonio-Express News.

Barajas, 29, was reportedly driving on Interstate 10 westbound on the Northwest Side when an officer saw him changing speeds suddenly and drifting in and out of lanes. When Barajas, identified in court records as Juan Pablo Barajas, was pulled over, he was noticeably intoxicated and smelled of alcohol. Barajas told the officer he had been in Southtown earlier and was using a GPS device to meet up with a friend. Although Barajas said he did not consume any alcohol and ultimately refused to provide a blood or breath sample voluntarily, the officer “noticed a strong odor of intoxicants coming from his breath, slurred speech and bloodshot eyes,” per the affidavit. When the officer asked Barajas to recite the alphabet, he recited the letters A through K “and stated he could not recall the rest of the alphabet.”

The officer placed Barajas under arrest. Police also obtained a search warrant from a Bexar County magistrate judge to have his blood drawn. The blood test will determine the severity of the charges he’ll face. Currently, Barajas is facing a Class B misdemeanor for driving while intoxicated, per KSAT. However, while driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, driving with a BAC of 0.15 or higher is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail upon conviction, under the Texas Penal Code. Barajas was released from jail after posting bond the same day as his arrest.

Barajas, who has no prior criminal history in Bexar County, is a reporter with KSAT-TV. Before joining the station in June 2021, he was a reporter and weekend anchor at KRGV-TV in the Rio Grande Valley. In a statement, Ashley Parker, the station’s vice president and general manager, confirmed the station is “aware of an incident regarding one of our employees being arrested for alleged driving under the influence on November 5th, 2023. We ask that you respect the privacy of all involved and refrain from speculation or conjecture.”