DUI Checkpoint Results in Arrest of One

On April 29 at a DUI Sobriety Checkpoint at Stratford Avenue between Bruce Avenue and Surf Avenue, police approached a silver pickup truck going east on Stratford Avenue after it stopped about 50 feet short of the checkpoint.

Officers walked up to the vehicle when the operator put the vehicle in reverse, almost striking the car directly behind it.  Police then went to the driver’s side window and asked the driver to lower the window.

Police reported an immediate strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. The driver, Ortiz Castaneda, 28, of Bridgeport was asked if he had anything to drink and he replied that he had three beers at a local restaurant.

Police observed six closed full bottles of beer in the back of the cab of the truck, along with one empty. There was also a bottle of wine in the cab.

Castaneda could only produce for identification a passport from the Republic of Honduras and a motor vehicle department check showed he had no driver’s license. In addition, the plate on the vehicle belonged to another vehicle.

Castaneda was asked to step out of the truck and perform field sobriety tests. He refused the first test, and performed poorly on several other tests, and was then charged with driving while under the influence. 

At police headquarters, he was administered a breath test, with results at .2436 and .2444, well above the legal minimum. In addition to DUI, he was charged with misuse of plates, no insurance, unregistered motor vehicle and no driver’s license. Bond was set at $500 and court is May 9.