Crime & Safety
City Man Driving with Wrong Plates Charged With DUI, Substance Unknown
The following arrest information was provided by the Woonsocket Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.
On Aug. 9 at about 6:43 p.m., Woonsocket Police Officer Patrick Greeno was monitoring traffic in the CVS warehouse lot on Mason Street when he spotted a black 1998 Lexus with no front license plate and followed it.
As he checked the registration, he noticed it was a combination plate, usually reserved for trucks and SUVs. The registration belonged to a Ford, he learned, shortly before the car performed a series of quick turns and traveled at 45 mph in a 25 mph zone, eventually parking in the lot of the Cumberland Farms on S. Main Street, according to Greeno's report.
Greeno made a motor vehicle stop of the Lexus in the parking lot, identifying the driver as Christopher Gaetano, 30, of 7 Huntington St., Apt. 2, who said he'd just bought the car but had lost the temporary plates, so had used his old truck's plate, according to Greeno's report.
Greeno reported Gaetano's eyes appeared bloodshot and watery, and his speech was extremely slurred. The driver said he hadn't been drinking, but had recently left a methadone clinic and had smoked marijuana at about 2 p.m.
During a series of sobriety tests, Greeno reported Gaetano showed a lack of smooth pursuit of his eyes and was unable to maintain his balance during the walk and turn. He consented to a chemical test, which came back negative for alcohol.
Gaetano was charged with DUI, and also issued summons for speeding, operation of an unregistered vehicle, and failure to display plates.
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