RHODE ISLAND
Boston Globe
[with video]
Worcester bishop McManus arraigned on drunken driving, leaving the scene of accident charges in R.I. court
By Brian Ballou, Travis Andersen and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Bishop Robert J. McManus, the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, kept silent in court today as his attorney entered a not-guilty plea to charges that he was driving drunk during a crash last weekend and then fled the scene.
McManus, 61, was released on personal recognizance after his attorney, Bill Murphy, told Fourth Division District Court Court Judge Walter Gorman that his client, a Massachusetts resident, waived his right to an extradition hearing.
The arraignment lasted about two minutes. McManus, who appeared in the black suit with white clerical collar usually worn by Roman Catholic priests, did not speak. After the arraignment on the two misdemeanor charges, Murphy spoke briefly with reporters as McManus stood silently by his side. …
According to a report written by Narragansett Police Officer Kevin L. O’Connor, McManus was standing outside his Honda when he arrived.
“I could detect a moderate odor of alcohol emanating from his mouth as he spoke. McManus’s face was red and his eyes were severely bloodshot,’’ O’Connor wrote, adding that it took McManus 15 seconds to get his wallet out of his pocket. “I asked McManus what had taken place, McManus started speaking and slurring his words to the point it was difficult to understand.’’
O’Connor said McManus then told him that “he may have hit a vehicle but he didn’t realize he did.’’
McManus was arrested by O’Connor after McManus failed three field sobriety tests: Following the officer’s finger as he moved it in front of McManus’s eyes, walking an imaginary line for nine steps, and standing on one leg while counting to 10.
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