45°
Norwalk Police, with the help of New Canaan Police, conducted a checkpoint on West Avenue near Reed Street from Saturday evening into early Sunday. Three drivers were arrested and charged with driving under the influence at the checkpoint, police said, while officers also made two more arrests for drunken driving charges in other parts of the town over the same time span.
The first arrest came at about 7:50 p.m. Saturday. Michael O’Leary, 51, of Wilton was seen talking on a cellphone while pulling into the checkpoint, police said. He failed field sobriety tests at the scene, and refused to take a breath test at police headquarters, police said. O’Leary was released on $500 bond.
Francisco Valiente, 37, of Lexington Avenue, Norwalk, drove into the checkpoint at about 11:45 p.m., according to police records. Officers spotted two open bottles of beer in his car’s cupholders and later found two 12-packs with some empty bottles and some unopened bottles, police said.
Valiente also failed field sobriety tests at the scene and refused a Breathalyzer at headquarters, according to the arrest report. Officers also found that he had been driving without a license, and that he had two prior convictions for drunken-driving charges in Michigan, police said. His bond was set at $5,000.
Police stopped Daniel Hernandez-Morillo at the checkpoint due to an illegal tint on his car’s windows, according to police reports. While talking with police he showed signs of intoxication, and he also failed field sobriety tests at the scene, police said. He was released on $500 bond.
Away from the checkpoint, police responded to an accident on Monroe Street at about 8:15 p.m. Luz Catalano, 45, of Chestnut Street, drove up behind a police car on the scene of a different accident, and then hit reverse to move around the scene, police said. She then backed into an approaching car, according to the accident report.
While talking with Catalano, police believed she was intoxicated, and she repeatedly made remarks about one officer’s ethnicity, police said. She failed a field sobriety test at the crash scene and was unable to follow instructions for the breath test at police headquarters, according to the arrest report. She was released on $50 bond.
The last arrest for driving under the influence charges came on Richards Street at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday. Police approached a car parked on the side of the road with a man standing next to it, according to the police report.
While the officer spoke with the driver, the officer on scene received word that Roberto Marrero, 26, of Derby was under a court order to have a Breathalyzer-triggered interlock device on his car’s ignition, police said. Marrero’s car did not have the device, and an empty vodka bottle was also found inside, according to the police report.
Marrero failed field sobriety tests at the scene and refused a Breathalyzer at police headquarters. His bond was set at $2,500.
Police also issued more than 40 tickets at the checkpoint over six hours, including charges to a Norwalk resident on a charge of driving with an open container of alcohol. Other tickets included 18 citations for improper window tints, six for failure to have a seat belt and five for a lack of headlights.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
