Town police charged three East Hampton men with driving while intoxicated last week.
Ernesto Valenzuela, 52, was southbound early Sunday morning in a 2015 Dodge Caravan on Three Mile Harbor Road, East Hampton, when he swerved into the northbound lane and stayed there long enough to be noticed by an officer, who pulled him over. The officer reported a strong alcoholic odor on the driver’s breath and said he performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Mr. Valenzuela was charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. and held overnight for a morning appearance in Town Justice Court. He is due back in court on May 26.
Jose Pedro Garcia-Dominguez, 43, was stopped last Thursday evening on Springs-Fireplace Road in Springs as he was headed south in a 2001 Toyota. Police said he was drifting across the lines and that he ran over a curb and a sewer drain while trying to make a turn. At police headquarters in Wainscott, he consented to a Breathalyzer test, which reportedly showed a blood-alcohol level over .18, more than twice the legal level. The charge against him was raised to the felony level, as he was found to have been convicted of drunken driving within the past 10 years. He was held for a morning arraignment and given a follow-up court date of May 12.
On Saturday night, Boris X. Penaloza-Alpala, 31, was northbound on Springs-Fireplace Road near Queens Lane in East Hampton when police pulled him over for a traffic infraction. The officer found that his car should have had an interlock device installed, but did not. He was charged with that misdemeanor and released on his own recognizance; he is to return to court on Wednesday.
Early Sunday morning, on Millstone Road in Bridgehampton, a Sag Harbor man, Colin Taylor, 23, drove his car into a tree, and it caught fire. Southampton Town police determined that Mr. Taylor had had too much to drink, and charged him with misdemeanor D.W.I. Bridgehampton firefighters were called in and extinguished the flames.