By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — A Springfield man had a blood alcohol concentration level of nearly three times the legal limit while operating a vehicle with his 5-year-old son inside, and now he is facing multiple charges including DUI and cruelty to a child.
Christopher Pelletier, 39, was arrested on March 31 after failing a standardized field sobriety test and ultimately a breath test showing that he had a BAC of .215%. He later provided an evidentiary breath test of .184, and then a second test of .181%.
According to a probable cause affidavit by Corporal Philip Perkins, on March 31 at about 3:03 p.m. the store manager of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet reported that there was a possibly impaired man in the store with a child. The store manager said he was “stumbling around, slurring his words, and smelled like alcohol.” While officers were en route, Pelletier had driven the vehicle and parked in front of Shaw’s.
Springfield Dispatch performed a license check after confirming Pelletier to be the person of interest, finding that he had previously been convicted of DUI on Sept. 25, 2012.
Perkins met with the store manager at Ollie’s who told her that a supervisor viewed Pelletier slurring his words, had a hard time standing and had difficulty handing cash over for a transaction. Pelletier and his son were seen getting into the vehicle, and the store manager called the police.
An officer responded to Pelletier’s vehicle while Perkins met the store manager. While Perkins spoke with the manager, he heard over the radio that the officer did not detect a smell of alcohol and didn’t think he was impaired. The officer allowed Pelletier to drive away, but Perkins was concerned that he was able to hide his impairment.
Due to heavy traffic, Perkins was not able to tail Pelletier to see if there were signs of impairment. However, he followed him to his Hunter Street home and found Pelletier’s vehicle parked in the driveway. Pelletier was out of the vehicle assisting his son out of the rear seat and was seen appearing “unsteady” and “swaying back and forth.”
Perkins approached Pelletier and when talking to him found that there were indicators of impairment, including watery eyes, slowed and slurred speech, and that he was chewing gum. He told Pelletier why he was meeting him, and he denied having any alcohol that day.
Pelletier was asked to undergo a field sobriety test, and while reluctant, he did participate. The first was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, where Perkins observed his eyes to be extremely bloodshot. He also said that he observed nystagmus performing the Vertical Nystagmus test in both eyes, which indicates a high dosage of alcohol. Pelletier refused to perform the one leg stand and the walk and turn, citing medical issues that prohibited him from doing it properly. Pelletier did volunteer for a breath test at 3:40 p.m., and it was found to be .215%.
Pelletier was arrested for suspicion of DUI and taken without incident to the Springfield Police Department. While there he declined to partake in an interview or speak with an attorney and voluntarily participated in the evidentiary BAC tests. The first test at 4:33 p.m. came up at .184%, and three minutes later it was .181%. He was taken into custody by his mother, who noted that she believed him to be “slightly impaired.”
Pelletier was arraigned at the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, Windsor Unit on April 15.
