Police: DUI Charge for Woman, 35 — Is This Her 2nd in Darien? [UPDATE]

Update 3:14 p.m.:

Capt. Frederick Komm, a spokesman for Darien Police, referring to general police policy, said the department retains arrest records only under certain circumstances.

Under the circumstances Komm described, a previous arrest of the same Mary Midkiff (or a different Mary Midkiff) in 2011 would not be in department records if no conviction resulted, or if she had completed probation.

Darien Patch asked Komm these questions by email:

(1) Does the Police Department normally keep records of past arrests for driving while under the influence cases? (2) In general, if an arrest were made and the court gave the defendant accelerated rehabilitation, would Darien Police have the same response, that you have no criminal history record on file for that person? (3) Are there other circumstances (like charges being dismissed) in which Darien police would say the department has no criminal history record on file for someone?

Komm responded (also by email; Web links have been added by Darien Patch):

Like all Connecticut law enforcement agencies, the Darien Police Department  maintains records of all arrests where at least one of the charges results in a court disposition of guilty.  If the person had been charged with several offenses, the records retained would only apply to the charge that resulted in the disposition of guilty. All other records are purged in accordance with Connecticut General Stature 54-142a. As concerns accelerated rehabilitation, the charges are dismissed after the person successfully completes a court imposed probationary period of up to 2 years. The records would then be purged in accordance with C.G.S. 54-142a.

Update 1:15 p.m.:

Darien Police Capt. Frederick Komm gave this (emailed) response when asked whether or not the two arrests are of the same person:

"We have no criminal history record on file for Midkiff."

This apparently would apply whether or not the first arrest was of the same person or someone different.

Darien Patch is following up with more questions to police.

Update 11:08 a.m.:

In 2011 a woman with the same name and age as the driver arrested Sunday on a driving while under the influence charge was arrested in Darien on an identical charge.

The Mary Midkiff arrested in 2011 was a Stamford resident, . The Mary Midkiff arrested Sunday has a Norwalk address.

Darien Patch reported that police arrested Midkiff of Stamford in February after obtaining an arrest warrant connected to an Oct. 23 car crash on Hollow Tree Ridge Road near Wheat Lane:

"According to police, Midkiff struck a pole and stone wall that day in her 1997 Volvo 850. The only occupant of the vehicle, she was transported to Norwalk Hospital and treated for her injuries."

The Connecticut Judicial Branch website lists no convictions for Midkiff. An email has been sent to a Darien police spokesman to find out if the same person was arrested in each incident.

Original article:

Almost a week after another driver was arrested on Mansfield Avenue on a charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol, police arrested a 35-year-old woman on the same charge on the same street.

Darien police gave this account of the incident and arrest:

At about 1:20 a.m. Sunday, a police officer saw a 2000 Jeep Wrangler swerve in its lane several times as it traveled south on Mansfield Avenue.

The SUV was stopped near the intersection of Mansfield Avenue and Buttonwood Road. The driver, Mary Midkiff of West Norwalk Road, Norwalk, was given field sobriety tests, which she failed.

Midkiff was arrested on a charge of driving while under the influence and operating an unregistered motor vehicle. She was later released on $200 bond and is scheduled to appear April 3 in state Superior Court in Stamford.