Mom Arrested for Drug OUI with Child in the Car: Cops

MANCHESTER, NH - A local woman was arrested this week on intoxicated driving, drug possession, and other charges, while allegedly driving with her child in her car, according to police.

Amy Lemieux, 27, of Goffstown, was arrested on April 12, 2016, and charged with aggravated driving under the influence of drugs/liquor (operating with someone under 16 years of age), reckless conduct, four counts possession of a controlled drug, and a child restraint violation.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Manchester Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.

According to a report, at around 6:30 p.m. police received erratic operation complaints involving a female driving behind the wheel of a Kia Spectra on South Willow Street in Manchester.

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“The caller stated the female operator appeared to be sleeping while driving toward Queen City Avenue,” according to Lt. Brian O’Keefe of the Manchester Police Department. “The concerned caller followed the vehicle until a police officer was able to locate the car on Varney Street.”

An officer caught up with the vehicle and “observed the vehicle swerve several times into the opposite lane of travel,” O’Keefe noted, and pulled the vehicle over.

The driver – Lemieux – was in the vehicle with her daughter, according to police, who was in the backseat.

“Lemieux’s erratic speech and dilated pupils indicated she was most likely under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” O’Keefe alleged. “(The officer) conducted a field sobriety test on Lemieux after her daughter was placed into a police vehicle with a properly secured car seat. (Another officer) cared for the 4-year-old while the field sobriety test took place.”

Lemieux reportedly failed the field sobriety tests and was arrested. A search of the vehicle allegedly yielded Buprenorphine Hydrochloride, Clonazapam, Gabapentin, and Buspirone, as well as two straws. The child’s grandmother picked her up a short time after the arrest.

Lemieux was processed and released on $5,000 cash bail and is due in court on April 25.