Cops: Drunk Driver Was at Nearly Triple Legal Limit

Police say a man arrested for suspected driving while intoxicated registered nearly triple the legal limit on a breath test.

David Raventtine II, 26, of Carlstadt, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and careless driving at 2:04 a.m. on Jan. 31. 

Officer Joseph Heuneman was stopped at the traffic light at the corner of Miller Road and South Street when Raventtine's 1999 Volkswagen Jetta sped past down South Street, according to the officer's report. 

Heuneman turned and sped down South Street to catch up with Raventtine's vehicle when it suddenly stopped and pulled into a parking lot near the corner of South and Elm, according to the report.

Heuneman wrote that he smelled alcohol when he approached the vehicle, and then also smelled what he believed to be marijuana. Heuneman asked Raventtine if he had any alcoholic beverages that night, and Raventtine said "nothing," according to report. When the officer said he suspected he had, in fact, been drinking, Raventtine began to fidget and mumble, keeping his voice low because–the officer suspected–he did not want to be recorded by any police audio device, Heuneman wrote in his report. 

Another officer that later arrived found in Raventtine's coat a metal pipe with a strong scent of what was believed to be marijuana, according to the report.

Later, at the Morristown Police Station, Raventtine performed a breath test, on which he recorded a Blood Alcohol Level of .20 percent, nearly triple the .08 percent legal limit, according to the report.

Raventtine was later released into the custody of a family member, according to the report.

For questions about this post, email john.dunphy@patch.com.