Gila monster in box surprises officers testing driver for DUI, Arizona police say

A Gila monster inside a vehicle gave Mesa police officers a start as they performed a field sobriety test on the driver, Arizona authorities say.

Police found a 37-year-old man asleep behind the wheel of a running vehicle at 11:25 p.m. Sunday, June 5, a Mesa Police Department news release said.

He had an orange pill bottle in his hands, police said. Officers woke him up, and he agreed to take a field sobriety test.

As officers conducted the test, one noticed a Gila monster poking its head out from a box in the man’s vehicle, the release said.

The man told police he picked up the reptile after accidentally running it over, but officers found no signs of injury, the release said.

A search of the vehicle also turned up “cocaine, methamphetamine, a fentanyl pill, and several items of drug paraphernalia,” police said. The driver faces driving under the influence charges.

Police turned the Gila monster over to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the release said. The man could face additional charges since it is illegal to own or sell a Gila monster in Arizona.

“Gila monsters are the largest lizards native to the United States,” according to LiveScience. They can grow up to 20 inches long and weigh up to 4 pounds.

They use their venomous saliva for defense rather than for hunting, the site said. Their bites are “extremely painful” but not normally fatal to humans.

This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Gila monster in box surprises officers testing driver for DUI, Arizona police say."