The Alternative Press

 

Release Date: January 19, 2013

Incident Date: January 18, 2013

Incident Time: 12:53 am

Incident Type: DWI/LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT, WITH PROPERTY DAMAGE.

(ONE ARREST).

 

A Warwick New York woman was arrested early Friday morning after she was stopped for Leaving the Scene of an Accident and also being under the influence.  At 12:53 am, a resident of Grove Terrace located in the Lake Mohawk section of the township contacted police to report that a white Volks Wagon Jetta had just crashed into a stone retaining wall on her property and then fled the scene.

 

Officer Joseph Pensado who was in the area on routine patrol, stopped the vehicle a short time later in the #400 block of West Shore Trail.  Despite the near freezing temperatures, the officer was surprised to find that the operator, 36-year-old Catherine Giaquinto was only wearing an unzipped leather jacket.  

 

While speaking to Giaquinto, the officer suspected her to be under the influence of alcohol. When asked why she was driving in the nude, Giaquinto denied being completely naked. The officer observed fresh damage to the left front fender, driver’s side door and the rear left passenger’s door which was consistent with the damaged retaining wall.

 

Giaquinto’s speech was badly slurred and mostly unintelligible. She could not remember if she had been involved in an accident and did not know where she was going.  The officer observed a dress and other articles of clothing in Plain View on the rear passenger seat of the vehicle.  He retrieved these items and directed Giaquinto to get dressed.  It took approximately 10-minutes for Giaquinto to put her clothes on.

 

After Giaquinto was dressed, she was then directed to exit her motor vehicle to attempt to perform a series of Field Sobriety Tests. The officer observed that she had put her dress on inside, out and backwards.  Due to her high level of intoxication, Giaquinto could not maintain her balance by simply standing still and listening to the officer’s instructions. These tests were terminated by the officer a short time later for Giaquinto’s own safety.  She was placed under arrest for DWI and transported to police headquarters for processing and breath testing.

 

During processing, Giaquinto became argumentative and disorderly.  She was subsequently charged with; DWI, Refusal to Submit to Breath Testing, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Failure to Report an Accident, Careless Driving, Failure to Wear a Seatbelt and a documentation violation.  She was released several hours later to a sober adult.  Her vehicle was impounded.  Sgt. Jeffrey Mase and Cpl. Marc Rubino assisted with the investigation.