A deputy patrolling the area said he caught Soto-Mendenez’s SUV traveling at 73 mph and then 80 mph in a 45-mph zone. As the SUV made a left turn, Mendenez tossed what appeared to be a can of beer out the passenger window, the report said.
The deputy picked up the container, which turned out to be a can of Four Loko, a controversial caffeinated alcoholic energy drink, the arrest report said. The beverage is known as “blackout in a can” and has resulted in numerous hospitalizations and other incidents.
The “Four” in the drink’s name stands for its quartet of ingredients: caffeine, alcohol, the Brazilian stimulant guarana and the animal-derived stimulant taurine, which is also used in energy drinks like Red Bull. The alcohol is malt liquor.
The report stated that Soto-Mendenez told deputies he consumed two Four Loko cans at a friend’s house, and that he refused a breath test. He allegedly kicked a deputy twice in the chest after his arrest, the report said. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail late Tuesday.
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