FARMINGTON — Police said a Mexico man was charged Thursday night with driving drunk in a stolen vehicle with a suspended license.

Sgt. Edward Hastings IV arrested William Hart, 42, on charges of operating under the influence, operating under a foreign license — he had a suspended New York license — and theft by unauthorized use of property.

Hart was at The General Store in Farmington Falls asking people for a ride, Farmington police secretary Bonnie Pomeroy said as she read Hastings’ report. When he couldn’t get a ride, Hart helped himself to a vehicle while the owner was in the store, she said.

Witnesses told police that they had seen Hart drinking an alcoholic beverage while at the store parking lot, she said.

Police put out an alert for the vehicle, and Wilton police stopped one matching that description shortly afterward on Burgess Hill on Routes 2 and 4 in Wilton. Hart was driving it and was detained without incident until Farmington police could arrive.

There was no damage to the vehicle, Pomeroy said.

Hart was being held Friday on $1,000 cash bail, a corrections officer said.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net