Lauren and Jeff Lowe
Embattled zookeepers Jeff and Lauren Lowe were arrested Saturday in a DUI case in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and one of them said they were indeed “burning off some steam” earlier.
“We want to apologize for the poor judgement we displayed last night,” Jeff Lowe, 56, said in a statement to his zoo’s verified Instagram account. He called their jail visit “much deserved.”
Cops reportedly arrested the couple Saturday at around 1:50 a.m. on suspicion of driving under the influence. An officer saw a white Ranger Rover with the Oklahoma tags “TGRK1NG” jumping a curb at high speed while leaving a parking lot, according to the police report obtained by KROF. The license plate is pretty ironic. Though the Lowes were featured in the Netflix docuseries Tiger King, the show was named after and focused most on rival zookeeper Joseph Maldonado-Passage aka Joe Exotic.
As for the DUI allegation, Lauren Lowe, 30, leaned out the driver’s side door and called for help in “slurred speech,” police said. The backseat passenger and Jeff Lowe, who was sitting in front, exited the vehicle, cops said. Jeff Lowe entered the driver’s seat, officers said. The officer at the scene put on his squad car overhead lights.
“Lauren remained outside the vehicle and Jeffery began to drive northbound on N. Pennsylvania Ave. until pulling in to a parking lot at 2600 N. Pennsylvania Ave,” police said. “Prior to entering the parking lot, Jeffery changed lanes from the inside lane to the outside lane without signaling.”
According to the narrative, the arresting officer knocked on the window and smelled a strong odor of alcohol as the male suspect stepped out. The defendant was described as having difficulty standing, seeming to be uncoordinated, and having slurred speech. Jeff Lowe failed a gaze test, gave an initial breath test at the police station of .18 BrAC, and a second at .17 BrAC, officers said.
Jeff Lowe’s statement on the DUI arrests
In his statement, Lowe did not address in detail what happened before the arrest, except to acknowledge drinking. He called the last weeks painful after they lost their “children the way we did.” (The federal government recently seized dozens of lions, tigers, and other big cats from the couple’s Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Authorities made allegations of poor care.)
“While burning off some steam Friday night, we lost track of just how many people were handing us drink,” Jeff Lowe said in his statement on the DUI case. “As many of you probably know, if you line up too many, you rarely stop until it’s too late. This is a lesson I preached to my kids for 12 years.” He added, “I should have followed my own advice.”
[Screengrab via KOCO 5 News]