Driver Stopped On Green With Open Mixed Drink, Arrested for DUI

WARWICK, RI — On July 6 at 2:23 a.m., Officer Brent Giles stopped a BMW X3 on Jefferson Boulevard after it stopped on green and turned on red, arresting the driver for DUI after finding a Long Island Iced Tea in the SUV.

Giles pulled the BMW over after it turned left onto Coronado Road while there was a red light  for that lane, according to the officer’s report. Giles made  U-turn and followed as the SUV’s driver’s side tires strayed into the oncoming lane, then turned onto Post Road and traveled at 50 mph in the 35 mph zone, straying into the oncoming traffic lane again.

The SUV pulled into the Chelo’s lot on Post Road and Giles got out of his cruiser and approached the driver’s side of the BMW, speaking with and identifying the driver as James Smith, 33, 4010 Liesure Drive, Temple Hills, MD.

Smith told Giles he was driving from Maryland to a friend’s house off Warwick Avenue. Giles asked him to step out of the BMW, which he did, appearing unsteady on his feet, according to the officer’s report.

Giles reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol on Smith’s breath, and asked if he’d had anything to drink. Smith replied he’d had a Long Island Iced Tea during a stop at a TGI Friday’s in New Jersey.

Giles asked him to perform sobriety tests, but Smith refused, telling the officer that he should arrest him, and began to walk back to the driver’s side door of his SUV.  Giles detained him and placed him in handcuffs, then arrested him on suspicion of DUI, reading him his rights.

During a search of the SUV, Giles found a lidless coffee cup and used a portable breath test on it, which detected alcohol, according to the officer’s report. When asked about the drink,  Smith said it was a Long Island Iced Tea from the restaurant, which he had stopped at in New York, not New Jersey. He said he’d had three of the drinks with a hamburger at about midnight.

Giles transported Smith to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he registered a .154 and .151 on successive breath tests of his blood alcohol level. Giles charged him with DUI, .15 or greater, first offense, and cited him for multiple traffic violations for observed offenses, including speeding, turning against the light, stopping at a green light and failing to stay in his lane of travel.

Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.