New Garden Police: New Castle man drove drunk, fired unlicensed weapon
Jose Pizano-Ortiz
A New Garden Township officer on patrol on Saturday, March 15, heard gunshots at 2:21 a.m. that subsequently led to the arrest of a Delaware resident, police said.
Police said the officer heard four shots while maintaining a stationary patrol in the 1400 block of Baltimore Pike in the village of Toughkenamon. Noting the taillight of a vehicle leaving the residential area from where the shots were fired, the officer conducted a traffic stop of a black Chevy Avalanche at the intersection of Church and Center Streets, police said.
The officer made contact with the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, Jose Pizano-Ortiz, 30, of New Castle, who had bloodshot eyes and exuded a strong odor of alcohol. In addition, spent .40-caliber casings lay in plain view on the front driver’s seat and rear seat of the Chevy, police said. A Springfield XD .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun was found wedged in between the front passenger seat and the center console, police said, adding that the 12-round magazine in the gun was empty.
Police said they also found an open bottle of liquor and plastic cup containing an alcoholic beverage in the center console of the vehicle. The gun was found to be unregistered, and Pizano-Ortiz does not possess a permit to carry a firearm, police said. Pizano-Ortiz was transported back to the station and submitted to a chemical test of his breath, police said.
Pizano-Ortiz was arraigned on charges that include driving under the influence, firearms not to be carried without a license, recklessly endangering another person, and driving with a suspended license, court records said. Pizano-Ortiz was remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to $35,000 cash bail; a preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 21, records said.
Thankful for the New Garden Police; there was an earlier incident of shots being heard about a month ago in the same area. So thankful they kept watch .