Car Blocking Vernon Tunnel Leads To Gun, Drug Charges

VERNON, CT — Vernon Police went to check on a vehicle blocking the town's famed tunnel last week and wound up making an arrest on drunken driving, drug and weapons charges.

A report on the Black Friday incident on Tunnel Road was released Thursday.

At about 1 a.m. last Friday, Vernon police received a complaint that a vehicle was sitting at the south entrance to the one-lane tunnel, blocking access to it, according to an arrest report. When officers approached the vehicle, the driver seemed to be intoxicated, according to an arrest report. Crack cocaine and a gun with a large-capacity magazine were located in the car, according to an arrest report.

The driver, identified as 34-year-old Anthony Sabourin, of Hartford, was taken into custody and charged with driving while under suspension, the illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, driving under the influence, criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, illegally carrying a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, possession of a controlled substance (first offense), carrying a pistol without a permit and the illegal possession of a large-capacity magazine.

Sabourin refused to take a chemical test after failing to meet field sobriety standards, police said.

He posted a $50,000 bond and is expected in Rockville Superior Court on Dec. 6, according to an arrest report.