STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Authorities allege that a 48-year-old man from Brooklyn was caught driving drunk with a child in his car on the Staten Island Expressway.
New York State Troopers apprehended Jerry Paredes while he was driving a black Cadillac SUV with a child in the passenger seat on the expressway in the vicinity of Slosson Avenue/Todt Hill Road on April 7 at about 9:45 p.m., according to the criminal complaint.
State police saw Paredes of Euclid Avenue driving the Cadillac “while in an intoxicated condition” as indicated by “watery eyes, a strong odor of alcohol on the defendant’s breath, slurred speech, a delayed response when answering questions and a swaying balance,” the complaint alleges.
Paredes refused to take a breathalyzer test, police say.
“I had one beer prior to driving,” the criminal complaint quotes Paredes as saying to the troopers.
The defendant has been charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated, endangering the welfare of a child and driving while ability impaired by the consumption of alcohol.
Paredes pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been released on his own recognizance. The defendant is due back in Criminal Court on June 6 and his license has been suspended during prosecution, according to public records.
Attorney Yan Katsnelson said that his client, Paredes, did not put a child in danger.
“My office will review the evidence,” Katsnelson said. “My client maintains that he was not under the influence.”
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