Shawn Oliver's OUI case moves to Fall River District Court, docket shows

NEW BEDFORD Shawn Oliver's OUI case was transferred Tuesday from New Bedford District Court to Fall River District Court, and prosecutors filed a motion the same day asking for his medical records, according to the court's docket.

Oliver, a New Bedford city councilor, suspended his campaign as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor Sunday, Oct. 18, hours after his arrest following a crash on Dartmouth Street. New Bedford District Court sent South Coast 360 copies of the docket, the criminal complaint and the police reports Tuesday afternoon, and the two new entries are handwritten on the docket's last page under the date Oct. 20.

One entry reads "Order of Transfer received," followed by "Case transferred out to Fall River D.C." It says the district attorney's office, the probation department and Oliver's lawyer, John Hendrie, were notified. The entry does not say who ordered the transfer or why.

The other entry reads "Commonwealth's Motion For Defendant's Medical Records filed," with the word "Affidavit" written below it. The motion and the affidavit were not among the papers the court sent, and South Coast 360 has not read them. The docket shows no ruling on the motion.

What the docket shows

The docket, number 2633CR003747, lists four counts, all dated Oct. 17: operating under the influence of liquor or with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding. The complaint describes the marked lanes and speeding counts as civil motor vehicle infractions, and the police arrest report lists the OUI and negligent operation charges as misdemeanors.

The complaint issued Oct. 19, and Oliver was arraigned that day before Judge Harrington, the docket shows. He was released on personal recognizance, with a handwritten condition that he not operate a motor vehicle unless licensed, and a checked box shows he was advised of the potential for bail revocation under Chapter 276, Section 58B. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at the arraignment, WCVB and CBS News Boston reported. The disposition sections for all four counts are blank. Oliver is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Two emails South Coast 360 sent to Hendrie's law office Oct. 19 were returned as undeliverable, and he could not be reached for comment. Oliver had not replied to requests for comment sent to his city council email Oct. 18 and Oct. 19 as of Tuesday night.

How the case began

New Bedford officers were sent to Dartmouth Street at 11:29 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, for a report that a vehicle had flipped over after striking parked cars, according to the police reports. Officer Orlando Franco wrote that he found a black Lincoln Navigator on its roof in the southbound lane, that Oliver was its only occupant and that five parked vehicles were involved. Oliver was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was arrested at 1:27 a.m. Oct. 18, the arrest report shows.

He was released from the jail in New Bedford at 10:25 a.m. that Sunday on personal recognizance, the Bristol County Sheriff's Office told South Coast 360. His name remains on the Nov. 3 ballot because the deadline to withdraw passed Sept. 4, according to the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin.

What happens next

The docket's scheduling history lists the arraignment and one later event, a pretrial date, entered as "PT," for Nov. 16. The transfer entry does not say whether that date carries over to Fall River, and the New Bedford docket shows no hearing date for the Commonwealth's motion. The papers show no date in Fall River District Court, and South Coast 360 could not confirm the next date Tuesday night.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.