As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we find reports of drunk driving arrests in the media nearly every day of the week. Whether you live in Bergen County, Hudson County or Mercer County, the odds of a driver being pulled over and charged with driving while intoxicated increases with enhanced drunken driving enforcement patrols.
While many DWI arrests take place as a result of a seemingly minor traffic offense, many other motorists are picked up for drinking and driving as a result of sobriety checkpoints. Still others are arrested for being intoxicated while sitting in a parked vehicle. The following news items from Union County are just a couple of the typical arrest reports that transpire every week in the Garden State.
Kenilworth
A driver from Newark was stopped by police at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Rte 22 after officers apparently noticed the suspect’s vehicle being driven in a suspicious manner. The 29-year-old Essex County man was pulled over by police in the early morning hours on a Saturday. According to reports, as officers approached the driver they noticed a gun allegedly protruding from car’s center counsel.
It was subsequently discovered that the weapon was a fully loaded 9mm pistol. The suspect was taken into custody without any shots being fired, after which he was charged with drunken driving in addition to possession of a firearm. The man was also charged with refusing to submit to a breath test, and possession of a firearm. He was later released pending a Superior Court appearance.
Cranford
A driver was Westfield motorist was stopped by patrolmen late on a Thursday evening when the police responded to a report of a vehicle allegedly being driven erratically along a stretch of road in Cranford, NJ. The arrest occurred near the corner of South Ave. and High St. following the report which stated that a motor vehicle had hit a sign in a parking lot of New Jersey Transit on South.
The 51-year-old female driver was pulled over just before 11pm by officers. The patrolmen apparently detected some evidence of alcohol and arrested the woman, then charged her with DWI. After being taken into custody, she was also charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident as well as failure to keep right and improper vehicle lighting maintenance. The woman was subsequently released pending a court appearance.
Kenilworth police stop man for DWI, find loaded handgun, NJ.com, March 26, 2011