SOUTHWICK – A Connecticut man had one thing going for him when he was caught speeding Monday night: he stopped for police.
“Ninety percent of the time, these guys want to take you for a little ride,” Southwick Police Chief David A. Ricardi said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“We’re happy he pulled over,” he added.
Robert Young, 33, of Glastonbury, was released on his personal recognizance after being arraigned in Westfield District Court Tuesday on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, possessing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and speeding in violation of special regulation, brought by Southwick police.
Ricardi said that Young was clocked at traveling 96 miles per hour on Feeding Hills Road. Police spotted him and pulled over right away.
The speed limit for that stretch is 35 miles per hour, which is considered a thickly settled area.
The officer “detected an odor of an intoxicating beverage” and Young was unsteady, Ricardi said.
Young, who told police he was driving to his girlfriend’s house in Westfield, initially denied having had any drinks that night, and then stated he had had “two drinks,” according to Southwick Police Officer Ernest Malone’s statement of facts.
At the scene, Young failed the field sobriety test and then refused to take a breathalyzer test, according to court documents.
Refusal to take the breathalyzer test in the Commonwealth results in an automatic and immediate 180-day license suspension for a first offense, according to the Registry of Motor Vehicles website and court records.
Young will return to court for a pretrial hearing on November 13.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
