A BPD officer following a Bloomfield man headed toward town on SR 54 said the driver crossed the center line twice. The driver was arrested, accused of OVWI.

Matthew Ryder Hayes, 28, of Bloomfield, was arrested early Thursday, April 30, by Lt. Marvin Holt of the Bloomfield Police Department. Hayes bonded out of jail the same day and today, Monday, May 18, a criminal case was filed against him in Greene Superior Court.

Around 12:30 a.m. on that Thursday, Lt. Holt pulled up to the intersection of State Roads 54 and 57, also known as the Lighthouse Junction, about the same time as Hayes, who was driving a maroon 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe headed east toward Bloomfield on SR 54. Lt. Holt reported while he was following Hayes toward town, Hayes was driving from side to side, drove left of center two times and also drove to the right side of the fog line. Hayes was pulled over in the area of REMC east of Bloomfield.

Hayes provided his license and registration – his license was valid, but Lt. Holt was concerned about how much Hayes had to drink before driving. Hayes allegedly said he had one beer. Lt. Holt asked him to exit the vehicle to run a few tests.

Hayes was reported to have failed one portion of standard field sobriety tests and did not complete the rest. He was transported to the sheriff’s department for a certified chemical test. The results showed he had a BAC of .127. The legal limit is .08.

Hayes was booked in to jail before 2:30 a.m. With bond set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed, he posted $400 and was released later the same day.

Hayes retained Defense Attorney Joseph Lozano and the defense has filed a motion to waive the initial hearing.

Hayes is facing charges of:

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor,
Operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least .08 but less than .15, a Class C misdemeanor, and
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.