A state lawmaker accused of driving while intoxicated in Cranston in February can keep his license but must use a breath alcohol ignition device for six months after pleading guilty to a traffic court citation.
State Rep. Enrique Sanchez, a Providence Democrat, pleaded guilty Friday before the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal to refusing to take a breathalyzer test in exchange for prosecutors dropping a citation for failing to obey traffic control devices.
He had pleaded not guilty to the citations during his initial appearance Feb. 19.
Sanchez, 28, must complete 10 hours of community service, undergo alcohol treatment, and use a breathalyzer-activated ignition device for six months, according to an order from Traffic Tribunal Magistrate Mark Welch.
Welch had also ordered Sanchez’s license suspended 30 days, but the ruling was retroactive to Feb. 19 — meaning it’s since been reinstated.
Sanchez still faces a misdemeanor DUI charge in Providence County Superior Court, where a pre-trial conference is scheduled for Friday, April 4.
The second-term lawmaker deferred inquiries Monday to his attorney, former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has reserved comment on Sanchez’s Traffic Tribunal plea as the criminal case continues. Sanchez was arrested by Cranston Police on Feb. 3 after an officer spotted him behind the wheel of a 2017 Nissan Altima stopped at a green light on Reservoir Avenue at 3 a.m. The arresting officer claimed Sanchez was disoriented and smelled of alcohol, which Sanchez has denied.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
