EG Police Charge Providence Man with DUI, Second Offense

A 50-year-old Providence man is facing his second driving under the influence charge in less than a year after he was pulled over for swerving in and out of his lane on Main Street shortly before noon on Jan. 2.

Police said Carlos Enrique Ortigoza, 50, of 35 Koussot Drive, Providence, was also driving without a license and had a half-full and cold can of Corona beer sitting on the passenger floor of his car when he was pulled over.

Police said Ortigoza smelled like alcohol and failed a field sobriety test at the scene.

Ortigoza reportedly told police that he was going to Dunkin’ Donuts for lunch and had been painting a house in Warwick. He claimed to have drunk “a lot of tequila last night, but not today,” according to a police report, and said that the can of beer in the car wasn’t his.

A check showed Ortigoza had no active drivers license, the plates on his 1999 white Honda Civic belonged to a different vehicle, the car’s registration was suspended and Ortigoza identified himself with a Guatemalan passport.

After being arrested, Ortigoza registered blood alcohol readings of .157 and .169 in two preliminary breath tests at police headquarters.

Court records show Ortigoza was serving one year of probation for a DUI conviction in August and has been charged with driving without a license or with a suspended license five times since 2008.

Ortigoza was presented as a bail violator and was ordered held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. He is due to appear in court on Jan. 20 for a violation hearing.