Drive Sober campaign begins
Officers will be working overtime until Labor Day to arrest drivers who choose to drink and drive.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Department and Nashville Police Department are joining around 230 other police agencies across Indiana in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.
Drivers should expect to see increased sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols.
‘’Any substance that makes you feel different, like legal or illegal drugs and alcohol, can also make you drive different,” Sheriff Southerland said in a press release earlier this month.
“Designate a sober driver today, as officers will be on patrol for impaired drivers.”
Drivers will be arrested. The average cost for driving while under the influence is $10,000 including car tows and repairs, attorney fees, fines, court costs along with lost time at work and other expenses.
Overtime patrols are supported with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the release states.
In every state, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. In Indiana, drivers under 21 with a BAC of 0.02 or higher are subject to fines and a license suspension for up to one year.
Driving while under the influence is not just limited to alcohol.
The ICJ recently provided Indiana police departments with android tablets to 248 trained police officers to document drugged drivers.
Police ask other drivers to report impaired drivers, after turning off the road away from the driver. Signs of impaired driving include: Weaving, swerving, drifting or straddling the center line; driving at a very slow speed; braking erratically; making wide turns; stopping without cause; responding slowly to traffic signals; driving after dark with headlights off; closely missing an object or vehicle; turning abruptly or illegally; and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Drivers should also watch for impaired pedestrians who may not be paying attention to their surroundings, the release states.
Intoxicated man arrested, banned from hotel
A Warren Park man was arrested in Brown County in July after police responded to a report of a disruptive man at a hotel.
Richard Vasquez, 27, was charged Aug. 12 with possession of paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, and public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor.
Police were dispatched to a local hotel for a report of a disruptive man in the lobby on July 23, according to a probable cause affidavit by Nashville Police Officer Abigail Beaver.
Vasquez told police he had nowhere to go and that he refused to stay at the hotel. A hotel employee told police Vasquez could stay in the room he had rented with friends. Vasquez said this was “unacceptable” and he wanted to go to jail.
Officers told Vasquez they could not just take him to jail, causing him to get angrier. Police were able to contact a relative of his, but the relative was not able to come get him until the next day.
Vasquez said if he had to stay in the hotel room, he would “destroy” it, and when the employee heard him say that, he was told he could no longer stay. The employee asked to have Vasquez banned from the property due this being the third issue they’d had with him over the course of a few weeks, the police report said.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Colton Magner administered a breath test which showed Vasquez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20, more than twice the legal limit.
Vasquez was placed under arrest for public intoxication. While searching his personal bag, police reported finding a wooden box holding a glass smoking pipe that had burnt marijuana residue inside.
He was also criminally trespassed from the hotel, the affidavit states.
Police stop reckless driver, make OWI arrest
A 39-year-old Brown County man was arrested on Aug. 3 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated after police stopped him for driving recklessly.
Nashville Police Officer Evan Painter stopped Israel Beesley on Old State Road 46 at 3:37 p.m. after dispatch received several 911 phone calls reporting a reckless driver on State Road 46 East passing vehicles on the shoulder, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Schonfeld reported seeing Beesley’s vehicle turn on to Old 46 by the Brown County State Park north gate. Painter then reported seeing the vehicle pass on Old 46 and take a corner in the 1600 block of Old 46 on the opposite of the road.
He stopped Beesley at the intersection of Clay Lick Road and Old 46. Painter reported smelling alcohol on him, that his speech was slurred, his eyes were red and watery, his manual dexterity was poor, he had poor balance and had a “passive-aggressive attitude” during the stop. He dropped his wallet twice and struggled to get his ID out, the report said. Painter also had to repeat instructions multiple times for the field tests, the affidavit states.
While Beesley was exiting the vehicle, Painter smelled an “overpowering” odor of marijuana in the vehicle and on him. Beesley told Painter he had a few drinks of Crown Royal. He told Painter there was not any marijuana in the vehicle and that he had smoked a joint approximately two hours before the stop, the report said.
A warrant was granted for Beesley’s blood. He was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital before being booked into the Brown County jail.
On Aug. 12, Beesley was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
Man pretended to be brother, faces charges
YELLOWWOOD — A Nashville man was charged with a Class A misdemeanor last week after falsely claiming to be his brother.
Officer Chad Williams responded to a call at a Yellowwood State Forest campsite on Aug. 21 about an unresponsive man. The man’s mother had reportedly called 911 after her son’s girlfriend called to tell her that she could not wake up Brent Burnette, 34, of North Johnson Street.
Burnette was responsive when Williams arrived and asked what his name was. Burnette said his name was Elliott T. Burnette.
Williams had dispatch run records for both Elliott Burnette and Brent Burnette. He asked the man several times to tell him the truth of who he was and Burnette stated each time that he was Elliott.
Dispatch told Williams that Brent had an outstanding warrant through Johnson County for possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 4 felony.
Williams placed the man in handcuffs until he could determine who he was, according to the report.
Officer Austin Schonfeld found Brent Burnette on Facebook and saw that he was the man at the campsite based on his tattoos, the police report said.
Williams placed him under arrest for false informing in Brown County and the warrant for Johnson County. Burnette was taken to the Brown County jail.
