Benjamin CLARKE Facing Numerous Charges

(CENTRE HASTINGS TOWNSHIP, ON) – An individual is facing a long list of charges after a suspected impaired driver was reported in Centre Hastings.

On Thursday, December 18, 2025, shortly after 7:00 p.m., officers with the Central Hastings Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a report of a possible impaired driver at a gas station on Highway 62. The vehicle was located and stopped on Highway 7.

A roadside alcohol screening device was utilized, and the driver was arrested and transported to the detachment for further testing.

As a result, Benjamin CLARKE, age 36 of Tay Valley Township, has been charged with:

• Operation while impaired – alcohol
• Operation while impaired – blood alcohol concentration (80 plus)
• Driving with an open container of liquor
• Operation while prohibited under the Criminal Code – two counts
• Driving while under suspension – Highway Traffic Act
• Driving a vehicle with cannabis in open packing
• Driving a vehicle with no validated permit
• Failing to comply with a probation order – two counts

The accused was held in custody and is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing before the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville on Friday, December 19, 2025. The individual’s licence had previously been suspended indefinitely, and the vehicle was impounded for 45 days.

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