Man arrested on obstruction charges

A 33-year-old man was arrested earlier this month on charges of obstruction of justice after he allegedly caused trouble during a DUI investigation.

Sandpoint Police officers were conducting a suspected DUI traffic stop July 14 when the passenger of the vehicle, Emmanuel Cardozo, allegedly began telling the driver not to comply with officers’ requests if they didn’t want to, court records said.

The driver was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and Cardozo was told he was free to go, according to the probable cause affidavit. Cardozo walked to the front of the car, court records contend, but allegedly turned around when the officers began looking through the vehicle, telling them they were not allowed to do so.

According to the probable cause affidavit, officers allegedly found a cold, half-full beer under the seat where Cardozo had been sitting. At this point, officers told Cardozo he was actually not free to leave and asked him to identify himself, which he allegedly refused to do, according to court records. Officers wrote in the affidavit that they asked for Cardozo’s identification multiple times, but to no avail.

“I again asked the male to identify himself or go to jail,” an officer wrote in the court document. “The male said, ‘I guess I’m going to jail.’”

Cardozo was arrested for resisting officers and paid a $300 bond to be released. His arraignment date is Aug. 11. An arraignment is the reading of the criminal charges in the presence of the accused. Defendants are able to enter a plea during an arraignment of guilty, not guilty or no contest.