Westport Man Arrested on Third OUI Charge

A 50-year-old Westport man is charged with OUI third offense, a marked lanes violation and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle following a Saturday evening traffic stop.

Westport police say that shortly after 6 p.m., Officer Jeremey Dellecese observed a brown GMC Canyon traveling west on American Legion Highway. The officer said the vehicle was serving over marked lanes. The officer stopped the vehicle just west of Forge Road and identified the driver as Leroy Mogardo of 1148 American Legion Highway, the address of 177 Studio Apartments on Rt. 177.

Police say Dellecese observed Mogardo reach behind the passenger seat as if to hide something, and that it was later revealed that the object was a bottle of Bud Light. When Morgado was asked to step out of the vehicle, police say he failed to put the vehicle in park. Dellecese said a strong odor of alcohol emanated from Mogardo, that he appeared glassy-eyed, and that he failed a field sobriety test.

Dellecese had responded to Mogardo's apartment earlier in the evening for a disturbance report, and the officer said that Mogardo at the time had been drinking Bud Light. But during the traffic stop, Mogardo denied having an open container in his car and denied having consumed alcohol on that day, according to Westport police.

Mogardo was placed under arrest and transported to the Westport Police Station for booking.