The sobriety checkpoint was conducted on the southbound side of Route 31, just north of Denow Road
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
Gotcha!
While manning its latest sobriety checkpoint on Route 31 Friday night and early Saturday morning, the Hopewell Township police charged three men with driving while intoxicated (DWI) and reckless driving.
All were booked at police headquarters before being released. One of the three men also was charged with making an illegal turn. A fourth man was booked on charges of driving while his license was suspended and driving a vehicle that had not been inspected.
Numerous other individuals were charged with less serious offenses. The checkpoint was part of the “Over the Limit Under Arrest” crackdown grant issued by the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
The sobriety checkpoint was conducted from 9 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday on the southbound side of Route 31, just north of Denow Road.
At the checkpoint, Detective Daniel McKeown charged Thomas Wallden, 51, of Franklin Street, Verona, with DWI, reckless driving and making an illegal turn at 9:03 p.m. Mr. Wallden was stopped after making a left turn onto Route 31 near the checkpoint. Left turns are prohibited on the portion of Route 31 between I-95 and the Pennington Circle. Mr. Wallden had the odor of alcohol on his breath, police said. After performing field sobriety tests, he was transported to police headquarters for processing and later released to a relative. His case will be heard in Municipal Court.
Officer Michael Sherman charged Brian Lacross, 44, of Merlin Avenue, Morrisville, Pa., with reckless driving and DWI at 11:40 p.m. Mr. Lacross had the odor of alcohol on his breath and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol while driving through the checkpoint, police said. After performing field sobriety tests, Mr. Lacross was transported to police headquarters for processing. He was later released.
Officer Louis Vastola charged Robert Wihlborg, 20, of Meadow Glen Road, North Point, N.Y., with underage DWI and reckless driving at 12:23 a.m. Saturday. Mr. Wihlborg had the odor of alcohol on his breath and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol while driving through the checkpoint, police said. After performing field sobriety tests Mr. Wihlborg was transported to police headquarters for processing and later released to an acquaintance. His case will be heard in Municipal Court.
At 1:23 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Michael Cseremsak charged Ehaab Bayomi, 33, of Candlewick Lane, Bridgewater, with failure to inspect his vehicle and driving while suspended. Mr. Bayomi’s inspection sticker was found to be overdue. Further investigation found that Mr. Bayomi’s driver’s license was suspended and revealed that there was an active traffic warrant for his arrest out of East Brunswick. Officer John Ferner transported Mr. Bayomi to police headquarters for processing. Mr. Bayomi was later released after posting bail. His case will be heard in Municipal Court.
Traffic summonses issued during the checkpoint included six for inspection violations, five for unregistered vehicles, two for driving while suspended, two for being an unlicensed driver, one for a provisional license violation, three for equipment violations, two for seat-belt violations and two for failure to produce credentials.
Mother’sMothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) representatives were at the checkpoint, where they handed out information to motorists.

