Court docs: Woman accused of DWI arrested at Columbia elementary school
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Marshall woman was arrested on Wednesday at a Columbia elementary school on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and other charges.
Yaquelin Bonilla, 36, was charged with DWI, driving while revoked and leaving the scene of an accident. She is being held without bond at the Boone County Jail. A court date has not been set.
According to the probable cause statement, Bonilla was allegedly involved in a crash at the intersection of Grindstone Parkway and Bluff Creek Drive around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Court documents say she sideswiped another vehicle with her BMW and then drove east towards New Haven Elementary.
Court documents say that the BMW was parked in a south parking spot at New Haven Elementary School and officers say the plates on the vehicle – whose front bumper was almost completely detached – were registered to Bonilla. Officers were then informed that the driver was inside New Haven Elementary School.
When police met with Bonilla, she was allegedly stumbling while trying to walk, had bloodshot eyes and smelled liked alcohol, according to the probable cause statement.
A witness – who was described as an unidentified parent – had alerted a redacted name about Bonilla’s vehicle and asked for someone to check on her, court documents say. Bonilla was allegedly seen slumped over the steering wheel while holding a 24-ounce Michelob Ultra in her right hand, the statement says. The witness claimed Bonilla tried to put the vehicle in reverse multiple times and struggled to get out of the BMW, the statement says.
Another witness claimed Bonilla struggled to get out of the vehicle while the engine was running. Bonilla allegedly told the witness that she was drinking, court documents say.
Bonilla was brought to the Columbia Police Department and was given a breath test, where her blood alcohol content was determined to be .285, the statement says. Bonilla denied drinking that day or being involved in a crash, the statement says.
According to the probable cause statement and Casenet, Bonilla has previously pleaded guilty to similar charges.
Bonilla pleaded guilty in 2017 for DWI, driving while revoked and failure to stop for a stop sign in Saline County. She was sentenced to shock jail time and five years of supervised probation, but ended up with an early release.
She also pleaded guilty to aggravated DWI in Carroll County on April 11, 2023. She was sentenced to a 120-day program and five years of supervised probation with a five-year suspended sentence.
In another case, she pleaded guilty in Saline County on Feb. 27, 2023, to driving while revoked and leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor. She was sentenced to a five years of supervised probation with a seven-year suspended sentence. She also pleaded guilty to another count of driving while revoked on the same day.
