Rep. Watson won't face DUI charges

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) - The South Kingstown police are not going to file further charges against East Greenwich Rep. Robert Watson in connection with the incident last month where he was arrested -- after he was observed driving erratically, and with a flat tire.

On Monday, Capt. Jeffrey Allen of the South Kingstown Police Department said in a news release that his department considered pursuing a drunk driving charge, "however, the evidence presented significant legal issues that would have made a successful prosecution unlikely," he said. Capt. Allen said his department had consulted with the town solicitor, and even Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.

Even though the police report for the incident said that Watson was stumbling and appeared highly intoxicated in the incident Jan. 21, he was never given a field sobriety test or breathalyzer test by South Kingstown officers, and was not charged with a DUI.

Officers had noticed there was a marijuana pipe on the floor inside the car and a bag containing marijuana leaves on the passenger's side. Watson was also in the car alone. For this, police took him into custody and charged him with possession of marijuana.

Watson didn't make it to a Feb. 2 court appearance because he checked into an inpatient rehabilitation program in Boston. His court date was pushed back to March 1.