(COVINGTON)---Covington Police report that an illegal alien ran an SUV into a Lee Road church and told officers he was trying to teach himself how to drive.

Covington Police Capt. Jack West says that 48-year-old Roman Mateo Zeferino, an illegal alien showing a Covington address, has been cited for careless operation of a motor vehicle, no driver's license, and operating a motor vehicle without lawful presence.

It happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, in the 1200 block of North Lee Road in Covington. Capt. West says that officers responded to a call where an SUV was reportedly wrecked into the front of a church. When they arrived, officers noted that the driver, later identified as Zeferino, crawled into a rear seat of the vehicle and exited the SUV.

Capt. West said officers had to locate someone who could speak Spanish to eventually learn that Zeferino was an illegal alien who did not know how to drive. The officers were told by Zeferino that he was teaching himself how to drive, lost control, and rammed into the church. No one was inside the church when it was struck.

Capt. West adds that even though the state legislature approved a law enabling local law enforcement to detain illegal aliens like Zeferino, jail overcrowding is forcing officers to simply write citations and release the suspects.

---