On the Roads: ‘Your Nonexistent Privileges’

A Springs woman is facing felony drunken driving charges after being arrested by East Hampton Town police late last Thursday night. Juliette B. Parker, 65, was driving a 2002 Ford on Springs-Fireplace Road near her Talmage Farm Lane house when, police said, she was swerving repeatedly across lanes.

The driving while intoxicated charges were felonies because Ms. Parker had been convicted a little more than three years ago of misdemeanor drunken driving in Sag Harbor. According to police, after performing poorly on field sobriety tests, she was taken to headquarters where she twice refused to take the Intoxilyzer 9000 breath test, but then consented. However, police said she did not exhale a full breath as required for the test and they marked the sample insufficient. Nevertheless, police said there was enough alcohol in Ms. Parker’s system to register a reading slightly over .08 of 1 percent, the minimum that defines intoxication in New York.

During her arraignment on Friday morning, East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky suspended Ms. Parker’s license because of her prior conviction. Bail was set at $500 and posted. 

Moses V. Chao, 65, who has residences in Manhattan’s East Village and in East Hampton Village was charged with drunken driving Saturday night. East Hampton Village police said they had received a call reporting a 1983 Mercedes-Benz being driven erratically on Main Street near Buell Lane, headed east. According to police, an officer spotted the car swerving across the shoulder on North Main Street, at one point striking the curb, and then going through a red light at North Main and Cedar Streets before pulling into the parking lot at the East Hampton Grill. Asked to do field sobriety tests, he allegedly failed and was arrested. 

Justice Tekulsky, taking into account the relatively low — .11 — alcohol reading, Mr. Chao’s ties to the community, and that it was his first arrest, released him without bail on Sunday morning.

Town police arrested Christian G. Cardenas-Arias, 25, of Hampton Bays late Friday night. Police said that while driving a 2003 Kia he was tailgating a patrol car headed west on West Drive, then began speeding once he turned onto Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton. Police said his breath test produced a .13 reading. 

“I am suspending your nonexistent privileges to drive,” Justice Tekulsky said during Mr. Cardenas-Arias’s arraignment Saturday. Mr. Cardenas-Arias had at least two prior convictions for driving without a license. “If you drive in violation of my order, and you are arrested and convicted, you are absolutely, definitely, going to jail,” Mr. Tekulsky said. Mr. Cardenas-Arias posted $500 bail.