NORTH SMITHFIELD – A Massachusetts woman is facing felony charges after police, who pulled her over for erratic driving, found a loaded handgun in the center console of her car.
Nina St. Onge, 36, of New Bedford, Mass. was charged with carrying a weapon under the influence, carrying a handgun without a license, DUI and refusal to submit to a chemical test.
According to a report from the incident, police were dispatched to Route 146 Southbound for calls reporting a woman driving erratically on Sunday, Aug. 1, just after 1 a.m. An officer spotted the suspect’s 2017 GMC, and reportedly observed it traveling around 30-35 miles per hour and swerving between lanes on the busy highway, before witnessing the car side-swipe another vehicle. Police stopped both vehicles and verified that the parties had not been injured.
St. Onge, who was unable to open the door to step out of her car according to police, told the officer she was returning home from Worcester. The officer, who reported smelling alcohol in the vehicle, reached in and unlocked the door, observing an open bottle of Corona inside the car.
St. Onge was reportedly unbalanced during physical sobriety tests, and later refused a breathalyzer test.
Police discovered more beer cans inside the vehicle, along with a Smith & Wesson M & P Shield .380 in a holster in the center console.
St. Onge reportedly told police that the gun was licensed in Massachusetts.
She has a pre-arraignment conference scheduled in Third District court scheduled for Monday, Nov. 1.
