Man Steals DUI Checkpoint Sign, Gets Arrested: Wallingford Police

WALLINGFORD, CT — A man was arrested after stealing a DUI checkpoint sign after police finished the checkpoint, which was held Saturday, Aug. 31, on Hall Avenue in Wallingford, according to police. Six people were arrested for DUI during the checkpoint, according to Lt. Anthony DeMaio.

DeMaio said that after the checkpoint was completed and police were clearing the related materials from the road and parking area, officers saw a man jogging on Quinnipiac Street with one of the high-visibility DUI Checkpoint Signs in hand. The man had stolen the sign from the corner of Hall Avenue and Route 5 where it had been during the checkpoint, was caught trying to flee the area with the sign, according to DeMaio. The man, who wasn’t immediately identified by police, was charged with sixth-degree larceny.

Funding for the checkpoint was made available by the police department’s participation in a state DOT Highway Safety DUI Enforcement Grant.

“The funding supported the staffing necessary to allow Wallingford Police Officers to specifically dedicate our efforts on DUI enforcement in a continual endeavor to reduce alcohol related accidents and the resulting injuries and fatalities,” DeMaio wrote in a press release.

The following is a synopsis of the arrests made and citations issued during Saturday night’s Labor Day weekend DUI Checkpoint operation by the Wallingford Police Department:

Six people were arrested for DUI, of which; five were alcohol-only related, and one was for a combination of alcohol and drugs.

“The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were also administered to several other operators who had admittedly consumed alcohol prior to operating their vehicles, but passed the S.F.S.T.’s and were released,” DeMaio said.

In addition to the DUI arrests, motorists were cited for the following offenses:

• One for Possession Marijuana With Intent to Sell
• Two for Possession of Marijuana
• One for Drinking While Driving
• One for Operating a Motor Vehicle w/a Suspended License
• One for Operating a Motor Vehicle w/o a License
• One for Operating a Motor Vehicle w/o Insurance
• One for Sixth-Degree Larceny

“Additionally, warnings were issued for a variety of motor vehicle related offenses, to include but not be limited to; improper turns, failure to display marker plates, failure to have headlamps lit, window tint violations, defective windshields, and failure to carry license or proper paperwork,” DeMaio said.