Weekend OUI Arrests in Newton

NEWTON, MA – Two men were arrested in Newton Sunday in separate OUI-related incidents, according to the Newton Police Department.

Around 2:50 a.m., police responded to a call of a driver operating erratically in the area of North Street. The car then took a left onto Crafts Street and another left onto California Street, where officers stopped the vehicle after an alleged traffic infraction. Police said the driver, 33-year-old Erlin Suchite-Mendoza, of Brighton, did not have a Massachusetts driver's license.

While speaking with Suchite-Mendoza, police said they observed his eyes to be bloodshot and glossy, and his speech was slurred. Suchite-Mendoza was asked to step out of the car, where police said he allegedly admitted to drinking that night and had a slight odor of alcohol on his breath. He was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of liquor, a marked lanes violation and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

The same day, police were traveling eastbound on Watertown Street when a blue Toyota Corolla allegedly pulled away from the curb without signaling and cut in front of their cruiser. The car then allegedly turned right onto Hawthorn Street without signaling and parked in the Hawthorn Street playground.

Police pulled the car over as it pulled into the playground lot. The driver, Luis Antonio Fustamante, 20, already had his license hanging out of the window, police said. When the officer began speaking to Fustamante, a bottle of vodka could allegedly be seen on the rear passenger's seat on top of a cluster of backpacks. Police said they smelled an "overwhelming" odor of marijuana on Fustamante's breath and a faint odor of liquor, and his eyes were allegedly "extremely" bloodshot and glassy. He also appeared disoriented, police said.

Officers believed Fustamante to be under the influence of drugs and placed him under arrest. Upon searching him, police allegedly found a small baggy containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine. Fustamante was charged with operating under the influence of drugs, illegal possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), illegal possession of a controlled substance in a park or playground and transporting liquor as a minor. He was also cited for failure to yield for oncoming traffic and failure to signal.

Editor's Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Newton Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a Massachusetts Patch police report.

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