Pimental arrest

On ,Jan 11,2014 I, Officer Gravin Guillen, was in full uniform assigned to marked unit E-1. At approximately 00:27 A.M, I was dispatched to Tufts St. for a report of a motor vehicle who
had hit a multiple cars and that individuals were trying to get the person out of the vehicle.

Upon arrival, I saw a car in the middle of the road with heavy front end damage. Several people came up to me and pointed out who was driving the vehicle. The man driving was identified as Ricardo Pimentel. I asked him if he was driving this vehicle and he mumbled words to me. I took a closer look and his eyes appeared glossy and I could smell alcohol emanating from his mouth and he had slurred speech. I asked if he spoke English and he replied “a little bit.” Other officers were on scene, including Ofc. Costa, Colette, Ramirez and Sgt. Tam. Officer Costa assisted with the translation of Portuguese. Ofc. Costa gathered Mr. Pimentel’s side of the story then brought him to a well lit parking lot to administer Field Sobriety Tests while i gathered witnesses statements and information. I observed the scene and could see a fire hydrant that was hit and knocked out of its place, a telephone pole damaged, and three cars with damage. These were all fresh damages. The vehicle Mr. Pimentel was driving was MA Reg a 1999 Jeep Cherokee color Red. It had heavy front end damage. It was backed up into another silver car MA Reg# a gray 2010Toyota Camry which had left side damage. A third car had left side damage and it was pushed about 20 feet from its parking place which was Dealer Plate a Honda Accord.

Mr. was one witness who saw the whole thing. He told me that he heard a loud screeching noise of tires and came outside his apartment to look. He saw the Red Jeep come out of the parking lot from Tufts ST. He observed the jeep hitting something near the pole where the fire hydrant was. He went up to the car and got the drivers attention. He spoke to him saying that he had just blown his tire to pull over. Mr. Pimentel ignored his request and drove forward hitting the silver dealer plate car. At this point, witness 2 came out. He stood in front of his wifes car(The silver Camry) to avoid damage to it.w2 saw the jeep backing up, he moved, and the Red Jeep struck the car by backing up into it. w2 called 911. Mr. Pimentel again tried to drive the car but was pulled out. witness 3 only heard the screeching of the tires and the hitting of some sort. Witness 4 saw the Red Jeep hit the pole and thats it. Those were all witnesses at this time. OFC Jason Costa informed me that he had failed all the tests. At this point I informed the opinion that he had been operating his motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and placed him under arrest and advised him that he was being placed under arrest for OUI Liquor and for Unlicensed operation. Officer Souza transported the defendant in vehicle 200 to the Somerville Police station where he was booked by Sgt. Campbell in the usual manner. His vehicle was towed by Pat’s towing by department policy.

I administered the tests myself at the station in the booking area with ample lighting and a straight line made of tape. The first test I administered to him was the nine step Walk and Turn. OFC. Melo assisted in the translation. In this test, the individual needs to walk a series of nine steps with his arms out to his side at 45 degress, and to walk heel to toe back and forth, pivoting with the front foot to turn and come back. I again verbally and physically demonstrated the instructions and asked the defendant if he understood. He again stated that he did understand. I again advised him of any medical condition or anything to hinder his ability to preform the test and he replied “no” The defendant began the test and stayed on the white line. He counted one before he took a step. He took about 12-14 steps before turning and walking back taking 12-14 steps on the way back, again counting one before taking a step. This was considered a failure.

The second test I administered was the One-Legged Stand. In this test, the individual is to stand on one leg of his/her choice, and to stare at the elevated foot until told to stop keeping both legs straight. I informed Mr. and he informed me that he understood this test. Again, I asked if anything medical would hinder his ability and he replied, “no.” He started to do the test and counted one before putting his foot down and saying sorry. He took the test again and counted fast up to 16 before putting his foot down. The first attempt was a failure.

The last test I administered was the HGN(Horizontal Nystagmus Test) I verbally told him about the test being given to him and if he fully understood the test and he replied yes.I also asked if he had any medical conditions that might hinder him from taking the tests and he replied “no”. I asked him to follow the tip of my pen with his eyes only and not his head and asked if he understood. He told me he understood and I administered the test. The first step of this test is to check the lack of smooth pursuit of the eyes. He moved his head the first time. I told him to only follow with his eyes. Again, he moved his head the second time. I informed him once again. He eneded up just staring at me not following my pen another time. The last time he did not move his head but his eyes were involuntarily jerking while moving my pen side to side thus failing the first step of the test. The second step is to check for Nystagmus prior to 45 degree onset. He understood the test. He continued to move his head or looking straight ahead. When he followed the tip of the pen, his eyes were involuntarily jerking before the 45 degrees failing the 2nd part of the test. The lasts step of the test is to test Nystagmus at maximum deviation. This is where the eyes are all the way to the corner of the head and cannot look any further. While giving the test, Mr. Pimentel did not follow the pen with his eyes but stared forward. I asked him three times and he kept looking forward. He then looked at my pen all the way to the right and all the way to the left. Both sides had his eyes involuntarily jerking thus failing the last part of the test.

At this point, my tests were complete and the defendant was advised of his Miranda rights under c263s5a and also his right to take a breathalyzer exam. The defendant refused to take the breathalyzer test. Mr. Pimentel was issued criminal citation R4243521.