A Springs man who has been convicted of felony DWI three times within the past four years, and was released earlier this year from state prison on parole after serving 17 months following his latest 2022 conviction, is back in jail, likely headed to state prison again following yet another felony DWI arrest.
Manuel C. Chillogalli Suqui, 46, was indicted on Friday by a grand jury on two felony counts of DWI, following his arrest by East Hampton Town Police the evening of October 21. Chillogalli Suqui has been in custody in county jail since that arrest.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in county court in Riverside in front of Justice Stephen Braslow on Friday, November 1, on the two felony counts, one for being charged with DWI after being convicted of DWI twice within the past 10 years and the other for being charged with DWI with three prior convictions in the past 15 years.
Chillogalli Suqui was originally arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court in front of Justice David Filer on October 22. The assistant district attorney handling the case, Ashley Cangro, meticulously listed Chillogalli Suqui’s four prior DWI convictions, including three at the felony level, two of which were in 2022, as well as another DWI conviction, his first back in 2014, at the misdemeanor level. In total, Cangro said, Chillogalli Suqui has been arrested five times on DWI charges in 10 years.
Cangro told Filer during the arraignment that because of the multiple felony convictions, Chillogalli Suqui was not eligible to have bail set at the local level. Cangro added that even if bail was to be set and posted, because he is on parole, Chillogalli Suqui would certainly be returned to the state prison system. Filer agreed and appointed the Legal Aid Society to act as his attorney.
According to the criminal complaint, police had received a call around 7 p.m. on October 21 reporting an erratically driven pickup truck last seen on Timberline Road in Northwest Woods. An officer canvassed the area and said she found Chillogalli Suqui asleep behind the wheel of a 2012 Chevrolet pickup truck, key in the ignition and motor running, stopped in the middle of Quarty Circle. She reported that Chillogalli Suqui “jumped” when she began speaking to him.
He appeared intoxicated, the officer reported, and failed sobriety tests. He refused to take a breath test at headquarters after his arrest, police said.
Police impounded the Chevrolet Silverado he was found in, they reported. Such impounds are required by law when a felony DWI arrest is made.
The arraignment of Chillogalli Suqui was done virtually. Laura Gretz of the Legal Aid Society represented Chillogalli Suqui, who was at police headquarters, seen on the court’s video screen. Seated in the courtroom was a woman identified as Chillogalli Suqui’s wife, who occasionally teared up as she watched the arraignment.
According to comments made in court by the attorneys, it appeared that the pickup truck that had been impounded was in her name, and not Chillogalli Suqui’s.
When a vehicle impounded due to the felony DWI charge belongs to someone besides the defendant, it is possible for the rightful owner to reclaim the vehicle, though a lot of paperwork is involved.
Besides the two felonies, Chillogalli Suqui was also indicted on two misdemeanor charges: unlicensed driving in the second degree and driving a vehicle lacking a court-mandated ignition interlock.
