Westport Man Charged With DUI After Striking Police Car

Alan Sterling, 73 of 8 Sylvan South Road, Westport, was charged Feb. 21 with DUI, failure to drive in proper lane, failure to carry insurance card and unsafe backing. Sterling was observed traveling westbound on Bridge Street at a slow rate of speed. The vehicle was weaving in and out of the westbound lane and into the eastbound lane. He was eventually stopped on Riverside Ave after he was observed doing the same thing. In speaking with the accused, the officer observed that his eyes were slightly red and glassy and that his speech was slow and slurred and there was a distinct and pronounced odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. When the officer returned to his vehicle to run his license, he observed the accused vehicle backing up. The vehicle did not stop and as a result, the rear bumper of the accused vehicle struck the right front bumper of the cruiser and caused damage. He failed the field sobriety test and was taken into custody. He submitted to the breath test with the following results: .175 and .166. He was unable to post bond and was arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court Tuesday morning.

Frederick Allen, 52,  of 7 Arrowhead Road, Westport, was charged Feb. 18 with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane. Allen was observed traveling north on Riverside Avenue. He then stopped for a red light in the left lane at the intersection with Bridge Street. The left lane is dedicated to vehicles driving straight, and the right lane is for vehicle turning onto Bridge Street. When the light turned green, the vehicle made a wide sweeping right hand turn from the left lane, crossed over the double yellow lines and stayed on the wrong side of the road for several seconds before moving into the appropriate lane. He was eventually stopped and the officer could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. He failed the field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. He refused to take the breath test. He later posted bond and was released.

Kelly Patrignelli, 37, of Trumbull, was charged Feb. 17 with issuing a bad check and turned herself in to Westport Police Department on an active warrant. She allegedly wrote a check to the Townhouse for Dogs in November 2011 with insufficient funds in the account and never resolved the matter since that time. She posted cash bond and was released.

Anthony Bolling, 51, of Trumbull, was charged Feb. 16 with two counts of second-degree failure to appear. Bolling turned himself to Westport Police Department on the two outstanding warrants. The original charges were for motor vehicle violations issued by this department. He posted bond and was released.

Trusha Patel, 22, of Ridgefield, was charged Feb. 18 with possession of a controlled substance (less than four ounces of marijuana.) Patel was observed texting on her cell phone while she was operating a motor vehicle. Once stopped and while speaking with Patel, the officer could smell an odor of marijuana in the vehicle. When asked if there was any in the vehicle, Patel produced two zip-lock type sandwich bags that contained a green leafy like substance which appeared to be marijuana. She was taken into custody and was later released after posting bond.