Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter June 19: Motorcycle DWI on Elsmere Ave

DELMAR – On Tuesday, June 11 at 9:16 p.m., a Bethlehem police patrol unit observed at 2018 black Suzuki motorcycle on the Delmar Bypass run through a red arrow onto Elsmere Avenue and see it almost not make the turn.

According to reports, the motorcycle driver had to put his boot down to steady the vehicle as it made the turn and drive onto the white fog line before continuing. At 338 Elsmere Avenue it came to a stop and the driver had to put both feet down prior to keep the motorcycle from tipping over.

Upon interviewing the driver, a 42-year-old man from Albany, the officer observed the man to have bloodshot and glassy eyes and to have a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath. The man said he did not have anything to drink.

When the officer returned to talk to the man, he asked if any alcohol could have spilled in his backpack because there was still a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath. The man allowed a search of his backpack, which did not yield any, but the man became unsteady on the motorcycle and tipped it over onto the lawn next to the road.

The man submitted to and failed field sobriety tests, refused to take a preliminary test for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device and was taken into custody.

At the police station, the man refused to take a breathalyzer test and said he would only submit to a blood test at the hospital. He refused to have paramedics take his blood, which, along with a breathalyzer,  are the only means available for a chemical test. He refused.

The man was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for refusing a breath test and other traffic violations.

He was released with an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court on June 18.

Warrant

DELMAR – Bethlehem police responded to the intersection of Groesbeck Place and Delaware Avenue on Tuesday, June 11 at 9:32 a.m. for a report of a person hunched over on a park bench in front of the Berkshire Bank branch.

Upon arrival, officers spoke to the man, Stephen Budesa, 66, of Albany, and a check revealed that he had an outstanding warrant from the City of Schenectady.

Budesa was transported to meet officers from that department.

The post Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter June 19: Motorcycle DWI on Elsmere Ave first appeared on Spotlight News .