SPARTA POLICE

Aug. 7 A Sparta man was arrested early Saturday morning after he was stopped for driving erratically. Stephen Calderon, 26, was driving south on Woodport Road am when he swerved into the northbound lane. Sgt. Neil Spidaietto who was also traveling north, had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. Sgt, Spidaletto who was assigned to the state-sponsored Over the Limit Under Arrest Detail stopped the vehicle. Calderon failed a series of field sobriety tests at the scene and was placed under arrest. After being processed at police headquarters, Calderon was charged with DWI, failure to maintain a single lane of travel and careless driving, He was released several hours later to a sober adult. Calderon’s vehicle was impounded. An inoperable brake light lead to more serious problems. Opeyemi Arole, 18, was driving on West Mountain Road along with his passenger, 19-year-old Christina Okoye. Officer Joseph Pensado stopped the vehicle for the equipment violation. While the officer was speaking to Arole, he detected both a strong odor of alcohol and burnt marijuana emanating from the interior of the vehicle. After administering a series of field sobriety tests, Arole was placed under arrest for DWI. While Arloe was being secured, Officer Andrew Petrucelli observed Okoye throw a plastic water bottle from the vehicle. The bottle contained vodka. Okoye was then placed under arrest, While she was being handcuffed, she was found to have secreted a plastic bag containing 50 grams or less of marijuana in her mouth. A ceramic smoking pipe, which also contained burnt marijuana residue, was found in plain view in the vehicle. After being processed at police headquarters, Arole was charged with; underage DWI, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle, driving with a suspended driver’s license, careless driving and maintenance of lamps. Okoye was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, underage possession of alcohol in a motor vehicle and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. The couple was released several hours later to a sober adult. Their motor vehicle was impounded. Aug.8 A call to police reporting a possible drunk driver early Sunday evening, resulted in the arrest of a Newton couple on a variety of charges. At 6:08 p.m. Officer David Pridham was dispatched to investigate a complaint from the anonymous caller that a 2QQO Silver Nissan Maxima was being operated on Route 15 erratically and the operator may be under the influence. The officer stopped the vehicle on Route 517 after it had exited the highway. Subsequent investigation revealed that the operator, Rebecca Constantino, 24, had not consumed any alcohol but was under the influence of narcotics and was in possession of three wax folds containing heroin. There were also several empty wax folds in plain view in the vehicle. Constantino’s front seat passenger Eric DeMott, 22, was found to be in possession marijuana. Constantino was charged with possession of heroin, being under the influence of narcotics, possession of hypodermic needles, possession of drug paraphernailia, driving under the influence of narcotics, possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle and careless driving. DeMott was charged with possession of 50 grams or less of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The couple was released to a sober adult later in the evening. Constantino’s vehicle was impounded. A Pennsylvania man driving on Route 15 was arrested after concerned motorists contacted police about his erratic driving. Shawn Guider, 24, of Lake Ariel was driving south when Sgt. Neil Spidaletto stopped him after he observed the van tailgating other vehicles. Guider, whose New Jersey driver’s license was currently under suspension for a previous DWI conviction, failed a series of field sobriety tests at the scene and was placed under arrest for DWI. Guider was charged with DWI, driving with a suspended license, refusing to submit to breath testing, careless driving, following too close and failure to produce documents. Guider was released later in the evening to a sober adult. His vehicle was impounded. Aug. 9 A Sparta woman was arrested and charged with a variety of offenses early last night after police were summoned to the White Deer Plaza to investigate a report of a bias Incident. At 5:57 p.m, Jenifer Towle, 41, of Sparta had become embroiled in a loud verbal argument with a local merchant after she allegedly double-parked in front of the merchant’s business. Towle called the police and reported that the merchant had called her inappropriate names and she considered it a bias Incident. Sgt. Jeffrey Mase and Officer Daniel Elig arrived on scene a short time later. Subsequent investigation that included field interviews with eyewitnesses, the officers were able to determine that Towle was not the victim of a bias Incident, However, the officers also were able to determine that Towle was under the influence of alcohol and had operated her vehicle while in this condition. When the officers attempted to place Towle under arrest, she became disorderly, struggling with the officers and would not voluntarily submit. Towle was taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for processing, where she continued to be disorderly. Towle was charged with; DWI, failure to submit to breath testing, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Towle was released later in the evening to a sober adult. Her motor vehicle has been impounded.