Man charged with OWI after stop
A 44-year-old Tennessee man who was stopped by police for having an open container in his vehicle in March has now been charged with three misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Former Nashville Police Officer Evan Painter conducted the stop just before 7 p.m. on March 1. Jonathan Grider admitted to driving the vehicle and told Painter he had used methamphetamine at around midnight.
Grider was arrested and submitted to a chemical test. A portable breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.09, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutor Ted Adams explained last month that there was a backlog at the state lab for testing, with some results taking months to receive, and that his office waits for the results for blood draw cases before filing formal charges to avoid court delays.
Grider was formally charged on Oct. 23.
Driver arrested for OWI after stop
An Ellettsville man was arrested in Brown County on Nov. 3 after police say he was speeding and driving intoxicated in front of the Brown County Law Enforcement Center.
Nashville Police Officer Keith Lawson was patrolling traffic in the law enforcement center’s parking lot when he saw a vehicle pass at a high rate of speed, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Lawson used his radar to clock the vehicle going 71 MPH and increasing. Lawson began pursuing the vehicle, and as it neared Parkview Church of Nazarene, it passed another vehicle in a no-passing zone, the affidavit states.
At the Circle K gas station, another vehicle began to turn in front of them, causing the vehicle Lawson was pursuing to slam on its brakes, then abruptly pass it on the right shoulder.
Lawson activated his emergency lights at Creekside Retreat and stopped the vehicle at the intersection of state roads 46 East and 135 South.
The driver was Brian Graham, 46. Lawson reported that his eyes were glassy and he was leaned back in his seat to keep from making eye contact with him, according to the affidavit.
Graham had problems getting his driver’s license out of his wallet and his registration information from the glove box. He told Lawson he was coming from an Indiana University football game, but denied drinking alcohol there, the report said.
A portable breath test had Graham’s blood-alcohol content at 0.21, almost three times the legal limit, the report said. Graham agreed to take a chemical test and was taken to the law enforcement center. On the way to the jail, he admitted to drinking alcohol that day, the report said.
While inventorying Graham’s vehicle for towing, police reported finding a unopened beer bottle and an open bottle of bourbon. They also reported finding a cup that smelled like bourbon with ice in it.
On Nov. 5, Graham was charged with three misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
