Former Speaker Harwood Now Represents State Rep Charged with Drunk Driving

A former speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives is the new attorney for a state lawmaker accused of driving while intoxicated in Cranston earlier this month.

State Rep. Enrique Sanchez, a Providence Democrat, appeared in Kent County District Court Monday morning for a pre-trial conference on the misdemeanor charge under the representation of former House Speaker John Harwood.

The conference lasted just over a minute before Magistrate Alan Goulart granted a request by Harwood to move the case to Superior Court.

Harwood, who served as House speaker from 1993 through 2002, told Rhode Island Current the move to Superior Court will give him more time to become familiar with Sanchez’s case. Court records show Harwood formally took on the case on Friday, Feb. 21.

“I just got the file,” he said in an interview after leaving the courthouse. “They may want to have a trial in a few weeks, and we need to be prepared.”

Changing the venue to Superior Court is a procedural matter that will give Harwood more time to review all of the evidence with the case, he said. “The heat’s on to move cases,” he added.

Sanchez was initially represented by State Rep. John J. Lombardi, a Providence Democrat. Lombardi told Rhode Island Current he took on the case because he knew the “Sanchez family well” and did not anticipate staying on permanently.

“We don’t always end up being the lawyers, sometimes you just get them through the initial process,” Lombardi said.

Harwood on Feb. 21 requested any evidence held by prosecutors and filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that Cranston Police violated Sanchez’s Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights. Sanchez declined to comment for this story.

Sanchez, 28, was arrested by Cranston Police on Feb. 3 after an officer spotted him behind the wheel of a 2017 Nissan Altima stopped at a green light on Reservoir Avenue at 3 a.m. The arresting officer claimed Sanchez was disoriented and smelled of alcohol, which he has denied.

The second-term lawmaker pleaded not guilty in Kent County District Court on Feb. 3 to a charge of driving under the influence of liquor and was released on $1,000 personal recognizance.

Sanchez also pleaded not guilty to civil citations of refusing a chemical test and failing to obey traffic control devices at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal on Feb. 19. His license remains suspended, but he can only drive to and from work. He is due again in traffic court on March 19.

Harwood is no stranger to high-profile misdemeanor cases. He represented former New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler in 2024 for a suspected DUI and then-Rhode Island Public Transit CEO Scott Avedisian for an alleged hit-and-run in Warwick — both of whom pleaded no contest to their respective charges.

There are no plans to change Sanchez’s plea at this time, Harwood said

“I’m going to give a legitimate defense if I have one,” Harwood said. “If I don’t, then I’m going to tell him, ‘Hey, let’s take a look, and do what’s best for everybody.’”

Sanchez’s case has not yet been scheduled in Superior Court.

This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.