Hawaii Rep. Matthew LoPresti was arrested Thursday night for allegedly driving under the influence of an intoxicant, Honolulu police say.
LoPresti, 48, was arrested at around 11:45 p.m. near the Fort Weaver Road and Geiger Road intersection, according to Honolulu Police Department records, after responding police observed “a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath.”
An incident report released by HPD and submitted by Sgt. Steven Chun also said that LoPresti’s eyes were “red, watery, and glassy” while interacting with police.
The report said LoPresti was allegedly stopped inside the shoulder lane on Fort Weaver Road in a Chevrolet sedan that had its hazard lights on. Chun, who on Thursday evening had been supervising a team of officers conducting impaired driving enforcement, stopped next to the vehicle and asked LoPresti, the reported driver, if he was OK.
LoPresti reportedly told the officer that he had a “little disagreement” with another person, which is why he stopped his vehicle in the shoulder lane. A woman, whose identity was redacted in the report, was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Chun said in his report that he then began investigating a possible domestic argument.
The report said LoPresti’s vehicle had started to “roll forward” as if LoPresti had removed his foot from his car’s brake pedal, during which Chun instructed LoPresti to stop. Later, while parking his own vehicle, Chun said that LoPresti’s began rolling away for a second time.
“I placed my subsidized motor vehicle in the park position and noticed that the Chevy was again rolling forward,” Chun said in his report. He then reportedly shouted “police” at LoPresti and told him to “stay right there while simultaneously activating my blue and white strobe lights.”
After repositioning his vehicle and while walking toward LoPresti’s, Chun reported that the brake lights on LoPresti’s vehicle became illuminated.
LoPresti reportedly apologized while Chun was asking for his driver’s license, registration and insurance. Chun noted that LoPresti’s insurance card had expired in April.
It was then that Chun had observed alcohol on LoPresti’s breath. He reported that LoPresti declined to participate in a field sobriety test multiple times and that LoPresti allegedly said that he did not do anything wrong.
LoPresti allegedly said that he didn’t “understand why that is relevant” and that his car was “not in motion,” to which Chun replied that his car had moved twice during their interaction. After refusing to take a field sobriety test, LoPresti was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and taken to the Kapolei Police Station.
LoPresti later agreed to a blood test for alcohol concentration, according to the documents released by HPD, but on a consent form said he only agreed because police refused to explain to him the consequences of refusing or agreeing to the test.
“They refused to let me talk with my attorney first before making any decision. I just want to understand what my rights are,” LoPresti noted on the form.
He has been released on $500 bail.
The woman in LoPresti’s vehicle was taken home by one of the responding officers, according to Chun’s report, suggesting that she had been drinking as well. Police moved the vehicle to the parking lot in the Ewa Town Center.
LoPresti had to surrender his driver’s license, although he was given a temporary permit.
LoPresti did not respond to a request for comment from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about the arrest, but said in a text that, “We are in the process of conducting our own investigation and hope to make a statement in the upcoming weeks.”
HPD released three incident reports submitted by responding officers, and all three reported that their body-worn cameras had recorded the police stop, but the department did not respond to an inquiry about making the footage available to the public.
Hawaii court records show that LoPresti, while in his 20s, was arrested and convicted in 2001 for a drunk driving charge.
LoPresti, a Democrat, represents District 41 including Ewa Villages, Ocean Pointe and Ewa Beach. He is running unopposed in the Aug. 13 primary election, and in November will face either David A. Alcos III or Daniel P. Wade, who are competing for the Republican nomination.