A spokesperson with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department announced on June 1 the arrest of a 24-year-old Mahopac man for driving while intoxicated (DWI).
According to the press release, the man had been discovered slumped at the wheel in his car at 5:57 a.m., on May 19. One of the county’s sheriff’s deputies had apparently come across the man’s car that morning while patrolling along the 900 block of Route 22 in the Town of Southeast.
Soon after discovering the man in his vehicle at the Brewster Mobile gas station, the officer determined that the vehicle was turned on. He further observed that the driver’s foot was pressing on the brake pedal upon peering inside the window of the car.
Upon seeing this, the officer reportedly knocked on the driver’s window in an attempt to wake him several times. He was initially unsuccessful in doing so, although he ultimately succeeded.
Once the motorist was awakened, he was subjected to a series of field sobriety tests. The responding officer noted that he failed them all. It’s then that he was taken into police custody on suspicion of DWI.
Toxicology tests that were performed after his arrest later revealed that the man’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .18 percent at the time of his arrest. The legal limit in the state of New York is .08 percent. His charge was later upgraded to an aggravated charge given that his BAC was over two times the state’s legal limit.
An aggravated DWI charge is a misdemeanor offense in New York.
Soon after his arraignment in Southeast Justice Court, the man was released from jail without having to post any bail. The date that the next hearing is scheduled for has not yet been made public.
If you’ve been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, then a Mahopac DWI attorney can advise you of potential penalties you may be subject to if you are convicted of the crime.
Source: Southeast Patch, “DWI for Mahopac man in Brewster,” Lanning Taliaferro, June 01, 2018
