Riverhead GOP chair Tammy Robinkoff was slapped with an aggravated DWI charge Monday after test results allegedly pegged her blood alcohol content at more than twice the legal limit following her Memorial Day weekend crash spree.

Ms. Robinkoff, 60, pleaded not guilty to the upgraded charge during her second appearance before Riverhead Town Justice Lori Hulse. The Suffolk County District Court office confirmed her case is also being transferred to Southold Town Justice Court.

She and her attorney, Steve Losquadro, declined to comment outside the justice court Monday. 

Mr. Losquadro previously told the Riverhead News-Review his client “will focus on her well-being and medical conditions, some of which surely contributed to this incident.”

Ms. Robinkoff was originally charged with driving while intoxicated and four counts of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage after allegedly striking multiple parked vehicles on Sunday, May 24, as previously reported.

The alleged trail of wreckage began on West Main Street, where Ms. Robinkoff struck a parked white Nissan while driving a 2013 Honda Fit and left the scene, according to police accident reports previously obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request.

She continued east on Main Street, hit a parked black Chevrolet pickup on Sunrise Avenue and then made her way to Further Lane, according to the records.

Ring doorbell footage obtained by the Suffolk Times sister publication Riverhead News-Review appears to show a gray car, allegedly driven by Ms. Robinkoff, backing into a basketball hoop and hitting a telephone pole outside a Further Lane home before driving away.

Ms. Robinkoff told police she had been at the VFW and consumed “six Coors Lights,” according to police records. She allegedly “showed signs of intoxication and performed poorly” during standardized field sobriety tests.

The records did not indicate whether police administered a breath test at the scene. Ms. Robinkoff was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for a medical evaluation before she was processed and held for arraignment.

The amended charge alleges Ms. Robinkoff had a blood alcohol content of 0.18%. New York’s threshold for aggravated DWI is 0.18% — more than double the 0.08% level for a standard DWI charge. The threshold may be established through a chemical analysis of a driver’s blood, breath, urine or saliva.

Judge Hulse set Aug. 25 as an administrative control date to track the transfer paperwork.

Ms. Robinkoff did not respond to a question about her status as chair of the Riverhead Republican Committee. She remained listed in that position on the group’s website as of Wednesday.

The post Riverhead GOP chair pleads not guilty to upgraded DWI charge, case to shift to Southold appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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