HOWARD COUNTY, MD — With more officers than usual patrolling area roads for impaired drivers, Howard County police said there were 13 DUI arrests on St. Patrick's Day. The police department said it made the strategic decision to conduct patrols rather than a checkpoint to keep impaired drivers off the roads.

The Howard County Police Department also held a "tweet-along," which was a virtual ride-along that took Twitter followers along with two officers. An officer conducting routine patrols in south and east Columbia said it was quiet, handling a call for a person locked out of a vehicle and pulling someone over for a taillight. After 10:30 p.m., the tweet-along shifted to an officer on the DUI saturation detail, which was a bit more active as the night went on.

Police said six of the DUI arrests occurred in Ellicott City, at 11:20 p.m., 11:26 p.m., 11:59 p.m., 12:20 a.m., 1:13 a.m. and 1:59 a.m. At 1 a.m. in Elkridge on Sunday, police arrested one person for suspected impaired driving, followed by two arrests in Columbia, one in Laurel, one in Elkridge and another at 2:23 a.m. in Jessup. It was not clear where the final arrest occurred.

The following drivers were charged as a result of the DUI patrols, Howard County police said:

Samuel Sylvester Sloan, 31, of Baltimore

Jamila Ayodele Duke-Smith, 21, of Baltimore

Nicholas Bijan Darvish, 23, of Clarksville

Ryan David Harper, 30, of Clarksville

Darren Heer Klinefelter, 23, of Columbia

Alex Keith Simmons, 44, of Columbia

Yampier Santana Gonzalez, 42, of Elkridge

Elihuber Reyes Vazquez, 27, of Elkridge

Chantel Latisha Johnson, 24, of Frederick

Julio Cesar Madrigal Rodas, 30, of Laurel

Avi Chaim Benus, 42, of Pikesville

Cody Veratanon, 25, of Severn

Spencer Ly, 24, of Sykesville The St. Patrick's Day effort involved additional officers patrolling the roads who focused specifically on identifying impaired drivers, replacing the more traditional style of DUI checkpoints. The initiative was funded by a grant through the Maryland Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Office.

Every year more than 160 lives are lost in Maryland in crashes involving impaired drivers and thousands more are injured, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation.



Police said that a first DUI offense carries a sentence of up to a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail, 12 points on the license and a potential license revocation for up to six months.

A second DUI can result in a fine of up to $2,000 and up to two years of prison time, with a mandatory five-day minimum sentence. A license may be revoked for up to a year, and 12 points will be added to the driver's record, according to police. RELATED: More Police To Hit Roads For St. Patrick's Day In Howard County