Justin DiPietro, the father of missing Waterville toddler Ayla Reynolds, was arrested for operating under the influence last Friday in Newcastle.

Lt. Mike Murphy, from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said DiPietro, 28, of Waterville, was arrested at 9:30 p.m. Nov. 6 on U.S. Route 1 in Newcastle.

Justin DiPietro talks to his attorney, Gerard Conley Jr., before appearing in court in September 2013, where he pleaded guilty to violating conditions of release regarding a traffic stop in which police found alcohol in his vehicle. DiPietro was arrested for OUI last Friday in Newcastle. Portland Press file photo by Gordon Chibroski

Murphy said a deputy made an “operation stop” because something about DiPietro’s driving was out of the ordinary.

DiPietro was given a roadside sobriety test and a breath test and taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.

Murphy said the case is pending. He did not have details about the make and model of vehicle or what about DiPietro’s driving caused officers to pull him over.

“I don’t have that information available right now,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he knew DiPietro is Ayla’s father but is still surprised by the attention that his arrest has gotten.

“Other than that, there is nothing extraordinary about this OUI,” Murphy said.

Ayla was reported missing Dec. 17, 2011, from her home at 29 Violette Ave. in Waterville. DiPietro told police he had last seen his daughter in her bed at 10 p.m. the night before.

She has not been seen since.

In September 2013, DiPietro pleaded guilty to violating conditions of release related to a traffic stop, in which police found alcohol in his vehicle. He was sentenced to four days in jail, which he already had served, and ordered to pay a $150 fine. DiPietro also had faced a charge of assault related to an incident in July of that year involving his then-girlfriend Courtney Roberts, but that charge was dropped because Roberts changed her story after filing the complaint, police said at the time.

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