Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The former state representative from East Greenwich was arrested on April 22, 2011.
Charges filed in Connecticut against former state representative Bob Watson of East Greenwich have been dropped, according to his lawyer in New Haven. "The state decided it couldn’t prove the DUI beyond a reasonable doubt," said attorney Charles E. Tiernan III Tuesday. "The prosecutor used his descretion and decided to drop the charges." News of the dropped charges was first reported by the Providence Journal Monday. Watson was arrested in East Haven on April 22, 2011, for driving while intoxicated and possessing marijuana. Tiernan had argued the urine test obtained after Watson's arrest was inadmissible because it had been taken more than two hours after Watson had stopped driving. In addition, he said the results were not given to …
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The East Greenwich representative, who was arrested twice in the past 14 months and is in recovery for substance abuse, announced he will not run for office again.
East Greenwich representative and former House Minority Leader Robert Watson, will not be seeking reelection this year, projo.com reported. Watson has been arrested twice in the past 14 months, first in Connecticut for driving under the influence and possessing marijuana. That case is pending. Then earlier this year, Watson was arrested for possessing marijuana in South Kingstown after driving into a snow bank. He pleaded no contest in that case and entered a several-week rehab program shortly after the arrest. Republicans and Democrats paid the East Greenwich Republican tribute shortly after midnight Wednesday as a House resolution was read honoring his 20 years of service in the chamber, the Journal reported. "I have no doubt about it, …
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The East Greenwich state representative will return to court in New Haven on Aug. 25.
Embattled Rhode Island state Rep. Robert Watson, who was caught in an East Haven police DUI checkpoint in April, pleaded not guilty today in New Haven Superior Court on DUI and drug possession charges. Watson appeared briefly before Superior Court Judge Susan Connor Thursday morning while his lawyer, Jack O’Donnell, entered the not-guilty plea. Judge Connor set his next pretrial appearance for Aug. 25, when Watson might choose to have a jury trial. “I expect to deal with this in a legal manner,” Watson told reporters after leaving court, which was essentially the same thing he said at his first court appearance on June 7. He declined to make any other statements. The meeting with reporters was much less dramatic than on June 7, when …
Paul Alexander
1:29 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Watson about five years ago at a mutual friend's funeral. We talked a half-hour before I knew he was a state rep or a Republican or a lawyer -- which is an extremely unfortunate combination in my mind. Yet, he made a huge impression on me as a smart and caring guy, and I am an old Swamper not prone to having 'impressions'. No doubt there are people, for reasons … more ›