Holdgate Pleads Guilty To Drunk Driving Charge On Night Main Street Fountain Was Destroyed

Michael K. Holdgate, the island resident who was the initial suspect in the destruction of the Main Street fountain last fall following the hit-and-run incident involving his white Chevy Silverado pickup truck, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to an Oct. 30 charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (second offense). Holdgate was arrested in his driveway on Vesper Lane shortly after the fountain was destroyed when he pulled into his property driving a van and was met by Nantucket Police officers inspecting his damaged pickup truck. 

Holdgate, the owner of Holdgate’s Island Laundry, was found guilty of the drunk driving charge by Nantucket District Court Judge James S. Sullivan after Holdgate entered a plea of guilt to the court. He was ordered to complete one year of probation, complete a 14-day inpatient program, forfeit his license for 45 days, and pay $350 in fees. The negligent operation of a motor vehicle charge was dismissed as part of the plea.

Holdgate avoided charges directly related to the destruction of the fountain during a probable cause hearing in Nantucket District Court back in February when clerk magistrate Don Hart ruled that the Nantucket Police Department did not present sufficient evidence to show that Holdgate was driving the white Chevy Silverado that crashed into the fountain on the night of Sunday, Oct. 29.

According to a police report related to the drunk driving charge, Nantucket police officers were investigating the Main Street crash and located the damaged vehicle in question behind Holdgate's Vesper Lane property next to the laundromat. Officer Jack Moran Jr. knocked on the door of the residence while he and officer Nicholas Terino attempted to locate the owner of the vehicle when Moran suddenly noticed a white Dodge Promaster van accelerating unsafely into the driveway of the home where they were standing.

Terino said the vehicle came to an abrupt stop “just feet” from where he and Moran were standing, and that the vehicle was operating in a negligent manner – adding that “a reasonable person would have slowed down turning into a driveway with three marked police vehicles in it.”

The operator stepped out of the vehicle and was identified as Holdgate, who is the owner of the van, as well as the truck involved in the hit-and-run on Main Street. 

Terino said while showing Holdgate the damage to his crashed truck, officers observed him to be unsteady on his feet, having a strong odor of alcohol emanating from himself, glossy eyes, and his speech to be slurred. Terino said Holdgate’s memory span was shortened, and he had to often be reminded of what they were doing.

Holdgate, 56, told police he only had one beer that night and refused standardized field sobriety tests on scene. When Holdgate was brought to the station, he performed breath tests with the first being a .148 and the second being a .147.

Holdgate was represented by attorney Jim Merberg in the case.

This incident took place just hours after the fountain collision, which occurred at approximately 10:30 p.m. when the white Chevy Silverado struck the fountain head-on, leaving the heavy steel structure in pieces on the cobblestones. Some parts of the fountain were strewn nearly to The Hub and the intersection with Federal Street, nearly 30 yards away.

The driver fled the scene. Nantucket police and firefighters soon converged on the scene and began the investigation that led to Holdgate's arrest in his driveway.