A Washington state Democrat who just finished first in her House primary was captured on Tacoma police video admitting she had been drinking wine, rating her own sobriety a four out of ten, refusing field sobriety tests so she could “go home first,” and then weeping and praying in the back of a patrol car after her DUI arrest.
Krista Perez, 40, is the progressive Democrat challenging incumbent Rep. Melanie Morgan from the left in the 29th Legislative District.
One week after she edged Morgan in the August 4 primary — a razor-thin race of a few hundred votes — Tacoma police say her 2019 Chevrolet Silverado slammed into a parked car shortly after midnight on August 11, and set off a chain-reaction wreck that damaged five vehicles. No injuries were reported, according to Fox News.
Body-camera footage first obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red shows the would-be lawmaker standing at the scene, looking confused, while officers walked her through the basics.
When an officer asked if she had been in an accident, Perez said she had not. She said she was coming from a friend’s business on Tacoma Avenue South.
“Did you have anything to drink tonight?” the officer asked.
“I just had some wine while I was there,” Perez replied. “I had a glass of wine, one glass of wine.”
Asked how big the glass was, she shot back: “I think you might need to contact the business.”
Asked to rate her sobriety from zero to 10, with zero meaning completely sober, she first said she wanted to go home. Pressed again, she rated herself a four.
The officer offered standardized field sobriety tests and said more than once that they were voluntary.
“Not right now. I’d like to go home first,” Perez said. She kept repeating that she was “confused.”
The officer told her she was not going home first and that the choice was yes or no, right then. She asked if she was allowed to decline. He said the tests were voluntary. She confirmed she was declining. Moments later she was placed under arrest for DUI.
“Hold on. Hold on. One second. Hold on,” she said. She also told the officer she did “not know what any of this means.”
Police cited a strong odor of alcohol, mood swings, slurred speech, red eyes and an unsteady gait. Court papers say her Silverado was nearly on top of another car and the driver’s airbag had deployed.
Once in the back of the patrol car, the footage turns into a minutes-long breakdown. Perez sobs and prays in Spanish and English:
“Dios, ayúdame por favor. Ayúdame por favor.”
Then: “Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God.”
WATCH:
A Democrat running for the Washington Legislature told police she drank wine, then asked to go home before taking a sobriety test. Exclusive body cam shows Krista Perez sobbing and praying in the back of a patrol car after her Tacoma DUI arrest. Watch the video. pic.twitter.com/cc7rwvJEpF
— Jason Rantz on Seattle Red (@jasonrantz) September 16, 2026
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