state-police-seal-150x150Oneida-based state police charged a Utica man with DWI and drug charges following a traffic stop in the Town of Verona Thursday afternoon.

At approximately 4:05 p.m. May 19, Trooper Terry Horton stopped a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck for travelling 71 mph in a 55-mph zone on State Route 365. While interviewing the driver, Richard W. Houle, 57, of St. Vincent Street, Utica, Trooper Horton detected the odor of marijuana coming from inside the truck and the odor of alcoholic beverage on the breath of Houle.

Further investigation revealed Houle was in possession of a quantity of marijuana in his truck and had been consuming alcohol prior to being stopped. Sobriety tests indicated Houle was intoxicated and he was taken into custody for DWI. Houle was transported to the state police barracks in Oneida, where Houle refused to submit to a breath test.

Houle was ticketed for DWI, refusal to submit to a breath screen, speeding and unlawful possession of marijuana.  He was arraigned in Vernon Town Court and was released to appear in Verona Town Court June 7.

By martha

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