Around 10:27 PM on September 22, 2023, Officer Eric Van Schaack with the Middletown Township Police Department, was assigned to the Monmouth County DWI Strike Force Checkpoint at 75 State Route 35 North. He observed a white Jeep driving slowly towards him and he instructed the female driver to stop before requesting her documents.
As he was speaking with the driver, who was later identified as Vanessa Reiser, Officer Van Schaack noticed that her eyes were bloodshot and watery and she had droopy eyelids. He also detected the odor of alcohol. She told the officer that she was coming from “a friends” and admitted to consuming “two drinks.”
Based on his suspicion of impairment, Officer Van Schaack asked Vanessa to recite the alphabet from “D” to “T,” but Vanessa started at the letter “E” instead and mumbled at the end of the test. At this point, Officer Van Schaack directed Vanessa to the side parking lot for a secondary inspection. He asked Vanessa where she was coming from again and she stated that she was coming from Red Bank. She also confirmed the officer’s account of her admitting to consuming two drinks earlier that evening.
Based on their suspicion of impairment, Vanessa was asked to perform field sobriety exercises. The first exercise was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer Van Schaack observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. He did not observe vertical gaze nystagmus. The second exercise was the “Walk-and-Turn” test. During the Walk-and-Turn test, Vanessa failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step and turned improperly. The third exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and Vanessa failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and put her foot down before the test was complete.
Based on her indicators of impairment, the odor of alcohol, her admission to consuming alcohol before driving, and her inability to adequately complete the field sobriety exercises, Patrolman Paris placed Vanessa under arrest for driving under the influence. After she was handcuffed, she was searched by Sergeant Mayer with the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle that she had been driving was impounded for a mandatory 12-hour hold under John’s Law. She was transported to the Middletown Township Police Department for further processing.
At the Middletown Township Police Department, Vanessa was read the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators and she responded by asking for a lawyer 2 separate times. This was considered a refusal. After the officers were finished with their paperwork, Vanessa was eventually released to a sober adult, her son, after he signed the Potential Liability Warning Form on Vanessa’s behalf. She was issued the following summonses: Operating under the influence, refusal for consent to take samples of breath, reckless driving, and failure to possess valid driver’s insurance.
Vanessa happens to be the ex of Luis Ruelas, who is currently married to RHONJ star, Teresa Giudice. The following month after her arrest, a New Jersey judge threw out Vanessa’s claim for a restraining order against Louie, and instead, stated that Vanessa was “obsessed” with Louie and his family. Vanessa’s DUI case is still pending in court as of October 3, 2024.
All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2024, c.16). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person’s reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.
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