A Roland man was arrested in a hotel stairwell after witnesses told police that he erratically drove his Mercedes into the Statehouse Convention Center early Friday morning.
Phillip Troppoli, 23, of 20009 East Pinnacle Road, refused sobriety tests after police found him at the Little Rock Marriott hotel. Troppoli was charged with careless driving, refusal to submit to a chemical test and driving while intoxicated, his second such offense, according to jail records.
A doorman at Club Level at 315 Main St. told police that he saw Troppoli walking along the sidewalk “talking to himself” and that he appeared “unsteady on his feet” when he approached the doorman.
According to the employee, Troppoli yelled at him, “They stole my car, and you’re not going to do anything about it,” and then walked off to his car.
A police report states Troppoli took off in his 2007 four door 350 Series Mercedes and banged into another parked car before “zig-zagging” his way up Main Street, “nearly hitting a pole” in the process before the car slammed into the city building.
The parked car belongs to Jessica Sims, who was sitting inside the gray 2008 BMW when Troppoli rammed it from behind, inflicting about $1,500 in damage, the police report states. She was not hurt from the impact.
A man with Sims, Andrew Birkha, was standing near Sims’ BMW when Troppoli struck it, and Birkha chased Troppoli on foot until he saw the vehicle crash into the convention center, the police report states.
Multiple witnesses said Troppoli fled on foot, and police found him sitting under a stairwell at the Marriott hotel.
Investigators noted in the police report that bruises on Troppoli’s face were consistent with the facial imprint they found on the windshield of the abandoned Mercedes.
Troppoli was “verbally combative” with hospital and jail staff and refused to cooperate with officers or discuss the crash, the report said.
The man’s Mercedes incurred roughly $25,000 in damage, according to police. The damage done to the convention center was estimated to be about $15,000.
A call to the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau for details about the work needed to restore the damaged structure was not returned Friday afternoon.
Troppoli was booked into the Pulaski County jail at 5:41 a.m. Friday. He remained there early Friday night, held in lieu of a $10,000 bond.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 12/28/2013