Police: Woman, 19, Drove with Station Wagon Loaded with Booze

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Town Seal Patrol Car

The town seal is part of Darien Police Department's shield-like logo (coat of arms?). Here's a widely seen version from the side of a typical patrol car. Note the central gable (the pointy part in the middle) is not quite missing from the building, but it's got the same color as the roof.

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A 19-year-old Darien woman was found Saturday with four 30-packs of beer, two 1.7-liter bottles of vodka and two bottles of wine, according to police, who confiscated the booze, called her parents and issued her a misdemeanor summons.

Darien police described the incident with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

A police officer hired by the Noroton Bay Property Owners Association was checking cars at the entrance to the private roads of the community when a green Volvo station wagon drove up at about 8:30 p.m., Saturday, May 28. It didn’t have a triangular association decal on the windshield.

The officer asked the driver to stop. The Darien 19-year-old woman was driving the vehicle, with a 19-year-old man in the seat beside her. She said they were going to the Noroton Yacht Club, where she said she was a member.

As the vehicle passed, the officer saw several full cases of bear in the tailgate area of the station wagon.

About 10 minutes later, the same vehicle came back, and the officer asked the driver to stop again. Asked why she was going to the yacht club, she said she was buying chicken fingers from the snack bar and was on her way back home. The officer said he didn’t think there was enough time to buy them and get back to where he was.

When asked about the alcohol in the vehicle, the woman said she was sorry and she didn’t know how the alcohol got back there. The officer saw a black plastic liquor bag on the rear driver’s side seat and a can protruding from a beach bag on the floor directly behind the driver’s seat.

The officer also saw four 30-pack cases of Natural Light beer, the vodka and wine. The woman was given field sobriety tests, which she passed. She was issued a misdemeanor summons charging her with possession of alcohol by a minor (or under-age person).

Darien police typically release those charged with underage drinking to their parents. The woman called her mother, who was away from home with the woman’s father. The mother told the officer that the family does sometimes leave liquor in the car. The officer noted in the police report that the beer was cold to the touch, even though the weather was hot.

At the mother’s suggestion, a 25-year-old sister of the driver came by to pick her up. The 19-year-old passenger was driven home by a member of his family. All the alcohol was confiscated.

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