Stephen Reise as he appeared in his booking photo.

PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT

PORTSMOUTH — A local man who previously pleaded no contest to two counts of driving while intoxicated, death resulting, was arrested again Monday for driving under the influence (DUI) following a motor vehicle accident, according to police.

Stephen M. Reise, 64, of 41 Donna Drive, was reportedly driving on a flat tire in the area of West Main Road and Redwood Drive before the vehicle crashed on Donna Drive around 3:30 p.m. Monday, police said.

Officers spoke with Reise and said he showed multiple signs of alcohol impairment, and that he admitted to consuming alcohol earlier, police said. He failed a field sobriety test and was placed under arrest.

At the place station, Reise submitted to a breathalyzer and provided readings of .269 and .264 percent — more than three times the legal limit, police said. 

Reise was charged with DUI of liquor .15 or greater, and cited for the following R.I. Traffic Tribunal offenses: refusal to submit to a preliminary breath test, possession of an alcoholic beverage while operating a vehicle, and operating a motor vehicle with metal tires.

He was arraigned by a justice of the peace and released on $10,000 surety bail, with the condition not to operate a vehicle until further court order.

1999 fatal accident

Court records indicate Reise pled no contest in 2000 to two counts of driving while intoxicated, death resulting, and three counts of DUI with serious bodily injury resulting. The charges stemmed from a crash on Oct. 29, 1999 while he was driving north on Route 4 toward Providence.

According to court records, Reise had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages at three different locations as he drove his mother’s 1986 Toyota accompanied by two passengers. While searching the floor for cigarettes, he struck the rear of a Honda driven by Marsha Bowman, who was accompanied by her daughter, Rebecca Bowman, and Rebecca’s friend, Kaitlyn DeCubellis, court records indicate.

The collision caused the Honda to propel over the Route 4 median and land directly in the path of a vehicle being driven southbound on Route 4 by Robert Sylvestre. The collision resulted in the deaths of both Marsha Bowman and Kaitlyn DeCubellis, as well as serious bodily injury to Rebecca Bowman and two other persons.

Reise received a sentence of 14 years imprisonment on each of the two counts of driving while intoxicated, death resulting, with the sentences served concurrently. 

Six other DUIs

Reise’s capture was one of six DUI-related arrests made during a proactive enforcement period by Portsmouth Police since Thursday, June 19. The others were:

• June 19: Joshua Poore, 32, of Middletown

• June 21: William Fecteau, 20, of Seekonk

• June 21: Derek Mendes, 31, of Brockton, Mass.

• June 21: Christopher Potter, 57, of Tiverton

• June 22: Kristen Dyer, 42, of North Dighton, Mass.

“The Portsmouth Police Department, in conjunction with the R.I. Department of Transportation Office on Highway Safety, is committed to identifying and removing impaired drivers from the road,” Major Michael J. Morse, deputy police chief, stated in a press release. “This series of arrests underscores the important of our ongoing DUI enforcement efforts in keeping the Portsmouth community safe.”