Catherine Carrera

Staff Writer, @CattCarrera

PEQUANNOCK — A Montvale police officer pleaded guilty Monday to drunken driving, but his sentence was put on hold while he appeals a pretrial ruling allowing an alcohol influence report to be used as evidence.

Herminio Amado had been expected to stand trial Monday afternoon. Instead, he opted to enter a plea to the drunken driving charge Monday morning.

Judge John A. Paparazzo sentenced the officer to a seven months’ suspension of his driver's license. That sentence will not be executed until an appeals court rules on the matter.

Amado, a five-year veteran of the Montvale police force, was arrested by Pequannock Township police in June after he was found sleeping behind the wheel of a black BMW on the side of southbound Route 23 and failed field sobriety tests, according to a police report.

Amado’s blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent, or more than double the state’s legal limit of 0.08, according to the police report.

His defense attorney, Joseph T. Afflitto Jr., had sought to suppress the alcohol influence report, which lists the timing and results of the breath samples. Afflitto argued that the timing between the two breath tests was too short.

Paparazzo denied the motion last week.

Judge allows alcohol report in Montvale cop's trial

“If the judge’s decision is reversed, we go back to court,” Township Prosecutor Nicholas Galante said Monday.

Calls to Afflitto and Montvale Police Chief Jeremy Abrams were not returned.

Abrams said last month that the department would await the court’s decision on the case before taking disciplinary action against Amado.

Amado is the president of the Montvale chapter of the Policemen's Benevolent Association, according to its website.

Email: carrera@northjersey.com