An allegedly intoxicated 25-year-old Ceres man was arrested by police Thursday morning after he passed out behind the wheel as he waited to pick his young niece from an elementary school down the street.

Officer Jon Vera was dispatched to the 2100 block of Lunar Drive at 10:55 a.m. to check on a man who was passed out in a car parked in the middle of the street. Vera and Sgt. Trenton Johnson approached the car and found Jesse Perea passed out in the driver seat. He was roused and arrested after he registered a 0.23 percent blood alcohol content, nearly three times the legal limit, after blowing into a breathalyzer.

Perea said he drank at a friend's house in Hughson that morning and then drove to Ceres where he ate food in his car before "napping" before he was scheduled to pick up his niece at school.

Perea was booked for DUI and his vehicle was towed.