Swerving Driver Faces DUI Charge March 6

WARWICK, RI — Officer Sydney Davis took note of a blue 2016 Audi Feb. 5, 1:19 a.m. as it sped out of Picasso’s Pizza’s lot over the sidewalk and into traffic, swerving, stopping and arresting the the driver on a DUI charge.

The driver, Cesar E. Valencia, 30, of 248 E. County Road, Rutland, MA, 01543, was arraigned on the charge that day, scheduled for a March 6 date on it in Third District Court, and released on $1,000 personal recognizance.

That night, Davis followed the Audi for about half a mile, after it bottomed out over the sidewalk and entered traffic without yielding, clocking its speed at 50 mph in a 35 mph zone. Davis noted the car swerved over the double lines multiple times, according to the officer’s report.

Davis pulled the car over, and it stopped at the Sunoco station, 1710 West Shore Road. The officer identified Valencia, who seemed disoriented, slurred his speech, and had bloodshot eyes. When asked if he knew the reason for the stop, Valencia replied, “I wasn’t driving straight,” according to the report.

As Davis was examining Valencia’s license, the man continued to search through his cards for it, and Davis had to remind him that the officer had taken it, according to the report.

Valencia declined a portable breath test and also refused to take sobriety tests, and Davis arrested him on suspicion of DUI, then transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he also refused a breath test.

Davis charged Valencia with DUI, blood alcohol content unknown, and cited him for refusing the breath tests, speeding, lane violations, failure to yield while entering from a private road or drive, and for driving with no insurance.