Holiday OUI arrests keep police busy

A New Brunswick man allegedly was driving drunk and eating jalapeno pizza Saturday when a Bangor police officer stopped the Canadian driver for running a red light.

Officer Chris Desmond reported that at 1:15 a.m., a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee turned left on a red arrow from Hammond Street to Odlin Road. The vehicle ended up in the wrong lane and was heading straight for Desmond’s cruiser before it turned sharply.

Desmond stopped the vehicle and noticed that the driver, later identified as Peter Quinn of Saint John, New Brunswick, had bloodshot and watery eyes. There was a slight smell of alcohol coming from the car, but the odor was overpowered almost completely by the smell of the jalapeno pizza Quinn and his two passengers were eating at the time of the incident.

Quinn, 39, admitted to having five beers earlier in the evening and told the officer that he was lost and trying to find the campground where he and the two passengers were staying for the night.

After failing field sobriety tests, Quinn was arrested for operating while under the influence of intoxicants and was taken to the Bangor Police Department for a Breathalyzer test, which showed his blood alcohol level to be 0.16 percent.

Quinn was issued a summons for operating while under the influence and then released.

An Exeter man with seven open beer bottles in his Toyota Tundra was arrested Saturday on a charge of drunken driving.

Bangor police Officer Wade Betters reported seeing the truck leave the front parking lot of the Ramada Inn at about 12:23 a.m.

The truck ran over the curb before clearing the lot and proceeded to drive toward Hammond Street, where it drifted over the centerline and swerved repeatedly.

Betters noticed the truck’s back license plate was covered and stopped the driver on High Street. The driver was identified later as Richard Thibodeau, 32.

As an explanation for his bad driving, Thibodeau said he was distracted from talking on his cell phone. Betters reported that Thibodeau’s eyes were bloodshot and there was a beer bottle behind the driver’s seat.

Thibodeau said he hadn’t realized the bottle was there. Betters then noticed a six-pack of beer bottles between the legs of the passenger. All bottles were open with some alcohol left in them.

Thibodeau said he had had one drink and was just making sure his friend got home safely. After Betters asked him to step out of the vehicle for a field sobriety test, Thibodeau said he was very nervous.

Thibodeau failed the field sobriety tests and was taken to the Bangor Police Department for a Breathalyzer test, which showed his blood alcohol content to be 0.13 percent.

Thibodeau was issued a summons for operating while under the influence and then was released. His court date is set for June 28.

A Portland man was arrested on a drunken driving charge Sunday morning and refused to perform a Breathalyzer test.

Bangor police Officer Shawn Green reported he stopped John Kenney, 24, of Portland, who was driving a Blue Dodge Durango with no working plate lights, at 12:52 a.m. on the Hampden Street exit of Interstate 395. William Lyons of Bangor, 39, was in the passenger’s seat.

After he pulled the car over, Green noticed Kenney’s eyes were glassy. A check on his license showed it had been suspended for failure to pay a fine. There was also a warrant out for his arrest out of District Court in Portland for attaching false plates.

Green reported he could smell alcohol on Kenney’s breath, but Kenney said he had not been drinking. Kenney performed poorly on several field sobriety tests, Green reported. Green arrested Kenney for the warrant, operating after suspension and operating while under the influence of intoxicants.

Green brought Kenney to the Bangor Police Department, where, after asking a few questions regarding the Breathalyzer test, Kenney refused to take the test, saying he was “all set.”

Kenney was informed his case would go to trial.

A Bangor woman with a warrant for arrest on theft charges filed an assault complaint Saturday.

Bangor police Officer Chris Desmond responded to a call at about 8 p.m. at 637 Finson Road. Crystal Otis, 23, said she had been assaulted.

Because of the outstanding warrant, Desmond arrested Otis and took her to Penobscot County Jail.

The assault is still under investigation.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Julia Hall