SHARE

Darien Police Charge Norwalk Man With DWI Outside Pumpkin Carnival

DARIEN, Conn. -- A Norwalk man was arrested on drunken driving charges outside the Tokeneke Pumpkin Carnival in Darien on Saturday morning, Oct. 18, after he was found to be at more than twice the legal alcohol limit, police said.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Louis Criollo, 45, was charged with driving while intoxicated, driving with a suspended license, interfering with an officer, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and failure to obey the signal of an officer. He was initially held on $5,250 bond, which the bail commissioner later reduced to a promise to appear in court on Oct. 28.

Police received a call at 11:16 a.m. from a resident reporting a possible drunken driver near the YMCA on Post Road. The caller told police that a black Ford Explorer pickup truck was driving very slowly and veering between lanes. The driver appeared intoxicated and was sitting all the way forward in his seat, staring straight ahead, the caller told police. Officers were dispatched to the area but were unable to immediately locate the truck.

At around 11:30 a.m. an officer was directing traffic at the corner of Old Farm Road and Tokeneke Road for the Tokeneke Pumpkin Carnival, an annual school-sponsored event that attracts hundreds of families and children.

The officer saw a truck that matched the one reported earlier, and tried to get it to stop to allow pedestrians to cross the street, according to police. The truck did not stop and continued on Old Farm Road, police said. Police said the driver appeared intoxicated and oblivious to what was going on.

The truck was stopped by another officer before turning onto Tokeneke Road. Police said that the driver, later identified as Criollo, had five empty Corona beer cans in the passenger seat, and a partially empty one in the cup holder. The officer told the driver to turn off the vehicle, and reported that the driver just stared at him in a daze, police said.

Police had Criollo get out of the truck, and said that he was unsteady on his feet, emitted an odor of alcohol and had glassy eyes. He initially identified himself to officers as 40year-old Mario Carrillo, police said.

Police said that during the stop Criollo possibly urinated himself, as his pants were dry when he got out of the truck but were wet when he was performing his field sobriety test. He failed the test and was arrested. Police said two breath tests at headquarters revealed a blood alcohol content of .21 percent and .20 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. He told police that he had drank two or three beers, according to police reports.

While being fingerprinted it was revealed that he had given police a false name and date of birth, as he had been arrested in 2011 on charges of driving under the influence in Mount Vernon, N.Y. police said. His license was under suspension and his car was not registered.

to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE