Crime & Safety

Wilton Man, 26, Charged with DUI, Illegally Storing Drugs

A 26-year-old man was charged with driving while under the influence and keeping prescription medication outside its container.

A 26-year-old Wilton man first seen in a downtown Darien alley was later charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol and keeping prescription medication outside its original container, police said.

Darien police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

A police officer on patrol saw a man in an alley between two downtown commercial buildings on Saturday, then pulled into the parking lot behind the buildings.

There he saw a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox SUV leave the parking lot, and the officer followed it. At the intersection of the Post Road and Sedgewick Avenue, the officer stopped the vehicle.

While speaking with the driver, John Christian, the officer smelled alcohol on him. Christian said he had drunk three beers earlier at the home of a friend.

Christian was given field sobriety tests, which he failed. He was arrested on a charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

In the rear of the vehicle, police looked through a backpack which held a clear plastic bag. Inside the bag were eight rectangular pills which turned out to be alprazolam (the generic version of Xanax), a prescription medication.

Christian said the pills weren't his and must have been left in the car by one of his acquaintances who drove with him. He was charged with keeping prescription medication outside its container.

Christian was initially held on $500 bond, which he posted. He is scheduled to appear Oct. 24 in state Superior Court in Stamford.


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