According to the other driver, Ponzi was speeding in the wrong direction down North Wolcott until he struck his vehicle, then got of out his Jeep Cherokee and kicked the other driver in the thigh. Ponzi faces charges of aggravated battery of a police officer, resisting police, driving under the influence, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and driving without a valid license or insurance.
At a bond hearing conducted using internet-based video conferencing software, Judge Charles Beach granted Ponzi released on his own recognizance, noting he had no prior criminal convictions.
“I am concerned with the battery of a police officer… particularly spitting, especially in these times,” Beach said.
Seated in front of a camera inside the jail, a look of relief washed over Ponzi’s boyish face, framed in the corner of the split monitor screen.
Ponzi was released after a bond hearing which was conducted over a video conferencing. The Judge, Charles Beach, issued his released in large part because this was the 21-year old’s first criminal conviction.