Impaired Woman Gets her Dog Locked Up After DWI Arrest

Around 2:19 PM on June 14, 2025, Officers Shawn Sodora and Anthony Hochstadter with the Hoboken Police Department responded to the area of 2nd Street and Washington Street on a report of a possibly intoxicated driver. While the officers were unable to make contact with the caller because they had left by the time they arrived on scene, they noticed that a green 2012 Jaguar was illegally parked in a bus lane on Washington Street.

A few minutes later, they observed a female with blonde hair walk towards the vehicle and enter the driver seat. She would later be identified as Patrys Pearah. Since they observed indicators of impairment, they instructed the woman to not start the car and removed the car key from her possession. Based on their suspicion of impairment, Officer Anthony Rutkowski was asked to respond to the scene and administer field sobriety exercises. They officers started speaking with Patrys, and she told the officers that she was coming from Weehawken and that she had driven to Hoboken to got to the AT&T store nearby. After Officer Rutkowski arrived on scene, he asked Patrys to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exercises.

The first field sobriety exercise was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer Hochstatder only observed the lack of smooth pursuit in both eyes. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. Patrys failed to follow instructions during the Walk and Turn test. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Patrys failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and displayed a lack of balance.

Based on report from the caller and her inability to satisfactorily complete the field sobriety exercises, Patrys was placed under arrest for driving under the influence. Her vehicle was impounded for a 12-hour hold according to John’s Law. Patrys was transported to the Hoboken Police Department for further processing, while her dog was transported in a separate patrol car. At the station, her dog was locked inside a holding cell while Patrys was being processed.

Patrys was read the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators at the station, and she agreed to submit breath samples. Her Alcotest was administered at the Port Authority Lincoln Tunnel Police Station, and it indicated a BAC level of 0.00%. However, the officers still suspected that she was impaired and Officer Paul Miller with the Secaucus Police Department responded to the Hoboken Police Department to conduct a DRE evaluation.

Patrys was issued a summons for operating under the influence (39:4-50) and eventually released to a sober adult pending her court appearance after they signed the Potential Liability Warning form on Patrys’s behalf.

Patrys has previously been arrested for allegedly driving under the influence in Denton County, Texas on January 18, 2019.

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