Officials Mum on Deputy Mayor’s Arrest

Six days ago, East Windsor Deputy Mayor Walter T. Daniels Jr. was charged in Hightstown with driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to breath samples and four related charges. There has not yet been any comment from him or the township.

Daniels, 67, who has been on the all-Democrat East Windsor Township Council for 15 years, was also charged March 1 with DWI within a school zone, reckless driving, careless driving and failure to maintain lane. 

Hightstown police said a concerned citizen alerted them to a potentially intoxicated driver on Davidson Road at 7:46 p.m. March 1. Police said they saw Daniels speeding, driving 37 mph in a 25-mph zone and drifting to the right, nearly going off the road. When the officer turned on his emergency lights to pull him over, police said Daniels went into the oncoming lanes of traffic before stopping.

Police also reported detecting a strong odor of alcohol coming from Daniels, who they said they arrested after he failed field sobriety tests. At Hightstown Police headquarters, police said Daniels refused to submit breath samples.

Reached for comment Monday, Daniels said only, “On the advice of my counsel, I'm not planning to discuss this.”

If convicted on the DWI charge, under state law Daniels faces a minimum penalty of: $325 in fees; a fine of between $250 to $400; a three-month suspension of his driver’s license; and between 12 and 48 hours of education at an Intoxicated Driving Resource Center, which if not completed would result in a mandatory two-day prison term and a suspension of his license until the requirements are met.  A judge could also order him to be imprisoned and to install an interlock device for between six months and one year on his vehicle.

Daniels is scheduled to appear in at 1:30 p.m. March 16.

Mayor Janice Mironov did not return a call seeking comment on the situation.

The Township Council’s next meeting will be held Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the .

This article was updated at 2:11 p.m. March 8 to include Daniels' court date.