On 3/1/25 at about 0243 hours, St. Paul police came upon a vehicle that had crashed in front of Borns Bar ([ADDRESS REDACTED]) in St. Paul, Ramsey County. The Chevrolet Tahoe (MN/ZPL952) was facing the wrong way, was severely damaged, and there was a light pole lying on the sidewalk nearby. There was also significant debris in the roadway and it appeared the vehicle had rolled over. Police found the driver, later identified as Victor Baltazar FRANCO ([DOB REDACTED]) in the driver's seat. He was bleeding from his left arm and trying to restart the vehicle.
FRANCO was unable to exit the vehicle because of the extensive damage and St. Paul Fire was called. FRANCO said he had recently left the Cancun Night Club on Rice Street. While FRANCO was speaking with medics, he tried to restart the vehicle a second time. Once FRANCO was removed from the vehicle, police saw an unpackaged marijuana vaporizer on the driver's side floor. FRANCO was slurring his words, his eyes were watery and glossy, his pupils were dilated, and he could not maintain his balance. FRANCO refused to perform Field Sobriety Testing and refused to take a PBT test.
FRANCO was arrested. As they were putting FRANCO into a squad, police saw a $1 bill on the ground at his feet. The bill contained suspected narcotics. The substance later tested positive for cocaine with a net weight of.49 grams. FRANCO was transported to Regions Hospital. While there, Police obtained a search warrant for FRANCO's blood or urine. They informed FRANCO that refusal to provide a sample pursuant to the warrant was a crime, but when they tried to execute the warrant and obtain a sample, FRANCO said "I'm refusing." St. Paul Police trailer surveillance video of the incident showed FRANCO driving the Tahoe south on Rice Street, striking two parked vehicles, then rolling completely over before hitting a light pole.
FRANCO has a previous gross misdemeanor DWI conviction; 19HA-CR-23-1504.
