WARWICK, RI — Officer Frank Montannaro was driving on Airport Road when a man flagged him down to alert him to an intoxicated driver, leading to her arrest on a DUI charge.
Montannaro reported that the man told him he had spotted a woman in a white 2002 Acura with Mississippi plates was in a nearby parking lot. He said the woman was intoxicated and shouldn’t be on the road, according to the officer’s report.
Shortly after, Montannaro spotted a car matching the man’s description pull out from Airport Road into a nearby parking lot, according to the officer’s report. Montannaro pulled in behind it and spoke with the driver, identified as Paula Cenkovich, 55, of 32 Draper St., Attleboro, MA.
As Montannaro spoke with the woman, he reported noting a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, that her eyes were bloodshot, and that her speech was slurred. She was also using the rear door of her car to hold herself up.
During a series of sobriety tests, Cenkovich demonstrated a lack of smooth pursuit and involuntary eye movements in her vision, an inability to walk a straight line and could not safely balance on one foot.
Montannaro arrested Cenkovich on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and transported her to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where she refused to submit to a breath test of her blood alcohol.
Montannaro charged her with DUI, first offense, blood alcohol unknown, with a court date of March 12. She was also cited for refusing the breath test.
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.
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