Man Arrested for the 12th Time on DWI

Man Arrested for the 12th Time on DWI

STILLWATER — A Minneapolis man was arrested for the 12th time on DWI-related charges after he rolled his car off the road into a Stillwater house.

Daniel Lynn Mills, 42, was arrested March 20 after he allegedly crashed in the 1200 block of First St. N. He was charged with two counts of felony DWI, as well as possession of an open bottle in a vehicle and driving after cancellation.

According to the Washington County criminal complaint: Police responded after a neighbor reported the crash and found Mills’ vehicle wedged against the house. Mills was attempting to remove items from the vehicle. He was so drunk that officers had to hold him by the arms to prevent him from falling down.

Mills claimed a friend was driving the vehicle and the friend had fled after the crash. Mills refused to identify the friend. He also said he had been playing with the gears and may have caused the crash, during which the vehicle rolled twice before striking the house.

Mills was in possession of two sets of car keys. A bottle of whiskey, an open bottle of soda that smelled of whiskey, and an empty Oxycodone prescription bottle were found in the vehicle.

The defendant was combative and verbally abusive toward officers, according to the complaint, and refused to take an intoxication level test, stating “I was already in prison for this offense before.

Mills recently had been released from prison, where he had been since his 11th drunk driving conviction in November, 2006. He had an active arrest warrant for failing to comply with the terms of his release. He also has convictions for check forgery and aggravated robbery, according to state records.

Berryville Mayor charged with DWI

Berryville Mayor charged with DWI, drug possession for second time


BERRYVILLE -- Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney was booked into the Washington County Detention Center early Thursday morning for alleged DWI, careless driving, possession of a controlled substance (marijuana), and possession of drug paraphernalia.

This was his second drug and alcohol-related arrest in less than a year.

According to reports, McKinney was returning home from Washington, D.C., Wednesday evening after attending a mayor's conference in the nation's capital on behalf of the City of Berryville.

His return flight was booked on United Airlines flight 5991, scheduled to arrive at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at 7:46 p.m. Wednesday.

According to a sheriff's office report, a traffic stop was initiated on McKinney's vehicle less than an hour later, at 8:21 p.m., as he was traveling south on I-540.

The report, filed by Cpl. Brad Cavender, states that he got behind a black truck, which was reportedly weaving and crossing the fog line, and initiated a traffic stop on the truck.

Cavender said he could "smell a strong odor of intoxicants" coming from the truck, and claimed McKinney was unstable on his feet during several tests.

Cavender said he placed McKinney under arrest for DWI and transported him to the Washington County Detention Center for a breathalyzer test. During a subsequent inventory of the truck, Cavender said an officer found a "small black film canister with marijuana in it."

Jail records show McKinney was officially booked into the detention center at 2:12 a.m. Thursday, March 19.

McKinney was also arrested 12 months ago, on March 24, 2008, for speeding, DWI and marijuana possession while on his way home from Eureka Springs.

At the time, McKinney claimed the small amount of marijuana was not his, and he apologized for his behavior, asking that he be allowed to finish out his current term of mayor after serving the city for 18 years.

He did retire from his Entergy job, which required a CDL license, saying he planned to retire soon and didn't want to battle to keep his CDL license.

"I made a mistake and will atone for it," he said at the time. "I made some bad decisions. I feel bad for the embarrassment I've cause the city or others."

Four months later, during a plea arrangement that was reportedly "average" in its fines, fees and suspended jail sentence, District Court Judge Marianne McBeth noted that all suspended fines and jail time were subject to no similar arrests occurring within 12 months.

McKinney was released from the Washington County Detention Center at 7:11 a.m. Wednesday on a $2,595 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Springdale District Court on April 16.

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City manager gets probation, fine in DWI case

City manager gets probation, fine in DWI case

A judge has sentenced Vidor City Manager Ricky Jorgensen to one year probation and a $2,000 fine following his DWI conviction.

Jorgensen was arrested for DWI on December 23, 2005. Authorities say Jorgensen was charged after he ran into a DPS patrol car which was stopped on I-10 while the trooper investigated another accident.

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A jury in Orange County convicted Jorgensen on February 4, 2009.  

He faced a punishment ranging from two years probation to between 3 and 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

One of the jurors from the trial attended today's hearing. She agrees with prosecutors, that justice was served. 

Vidor City Mayor Ray Long tells KFDM Jorgensen's job as City Manager will not be affected by the conviction or sentence. He says Jorgensen was suspended for 30 days, without pay, after his arrest, and the council feels that is sufficient enough punishment from them.

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Fourth DWI results in 50-year sentence

Fourth DWI results in 50-year sentence

A judge sentenced a Willis man who will go to trial in the next few months for his fifth charge of driving while intoxicated to 50 years in prison for his fourth DWI.

A jury convicted John El Garner, 39, Feb. 4 in the 410th state District Court of Judge K. Michael Mayes, and visiting Judge Reagan Clark sentenced him Wednesday, according to a press release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

“Fifty years, I felt, was extremely fair,” prosecutor Nancy Hebert said. “To me, you just can’t hide the look of shock on your face when you get sentenced to 50 years.”

Hebert said Garner raised the issue of competency during his trial, which began Feb. 2.

“The jury found him competent to stand trial and convicted him,” she said.

He was arrested April 21, 2008, when he was observed driving erratically in the 400 block of West Montgomery Street in Willis, the press release stated. The police officer who pulled him over approached the vehicle and “immediately noticed the odor of alcohol emitting from the passenger compartment of the vehicle,” the release stated.

Garner performed poorly on field sobriety tests, refused to take a breathalyzer test and became belligerent at the Montgomery County Jail and had to be restrained, the release stated.

But Garner was released three days later, on April 24, on a personal recognizance bond, First Assistant District Attorney Phil Grant said.

“I don’t really have an explanation for that one,” Grant said.

Exactly two months after his arrest in April, Garner was arrested again – his fifth DWI offense. He is set to go to trial for that arrest in the next few months, the press release stated.

Hebert will serve as prosecuting attorney again in that case, she said.

“I assume the defense attorney and I will be talking about that,” she said.

Garner’s DWI conviction was his first, Hebert said, but he has a history of arrests for various misdemeanor and felony charges dating back to 1987, according to Public Data.

“He was an all-around career criminal,” Grant said.

He served prison time for two felony convictions, Hebert said, including eight years for a 1991 conviction for burglary of a building in Brazoria County and two years in 2006 for conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Louisiana.

Garner does have the possibility of being paroled after serving about a quarter of his sentence, Grant said.

District Attorney Brett Ligon, who has said his office will step up its efforts to prosecute driving while intoxicated cases, was pleased with Garner’s sentence and praised Hebert.

“Nancy continues to be one of the hardest-working assistant DAs in this office,” he stated in the press release. “She tried more felony cases than anyone else in the office last year.

“I’m thankful she was able to convince Judge Clark that in order to protect the welfare of our community, John Garner needs to stay in prison.”

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MADD honors girl, cop in the fight against DWI

MADD honors girl, cop in the fight against DWI

A Glen Cove schoolgirl who called police after spotting a man stumbling out of a bar and into a vehicle, as well as a Suffolk cop who made three separate drunken driving arrests during a single tour, were among more than 100 people who got awards yesterday at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving law enforcement luncheon in Lindenhurst.

With many of the cops still wearing black mourning bands over their badges in honor of Glen Ciano, a fellow officer killed last month in Commack by a suspected drunken driver, officers representing agencies from the East End to westernmost Nassau County listened as prosecutors and MADD's Long Island affiliate urged vigilance against driving under the influence on Long Island.

"Together, we all in the room have a common mission - and that is to do everything we can, use every tool available in order to stop the devastation, the devastating injuries, the deaths that we are seeing on our roadways," said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas J. Spota.

Two of the success stories spotlighted at the luncheon were those of the schoolgirl, Samantha Smith, 11, and Suffolk Sgt. Jeffrey Walker of the Third Precinct.

Samantha was going home from Robert M. Finley Middle School last fall when she and her mom saw the man stagger from the bar to the vehicle.

"He couldn't even get the keys inside the lock," she said of the man.

Samantha took out a notebook from her book bag and jotted down enough information about the vehicle to lead to an arrest of a man who police say had a .24 percent blood-alcohol content.

At the same ceremony Walker received an award for locking up three suspected drunken drivers - in Brentwood, in Central Islip and in Kings Park - during one eight-hour shift in December.

The luncheon, held at Chateau La Mer in Lindenhurst, was MADD's Long Island affiliate's third annual for law enforcement. The group lobbies government, runs anti-drunken-driving panels and represents families of people killed in alcohol-involved crashes.

The catering hall donated the luncheon to the group, said MADD's Kristyn Hovanec, a development officer.

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Free Lunch Gets One Man Out Of Drunk Driving Charge

Tonight At 11pm - Offer Of Free Lunch Gets One Man Out Of Drunk Driving Charge

How can a lunch lead to someone getting out of DWI? 

A 2 wants to know investigation looked into an offer by a lieutenant in the Guilford County Sheriff's Department. 

The offer leads to one man getting out of a drunk driving charge. 

That fact upset the father of a drunk driving victim who believes the sheriff's department was in the right. 

"The people getting into cars and drinking and driving are doing the drinking. The evidence is there, they are blowing over the limit." said Chuck Kennedy. "They chose to do that. I don't see where that has any effect on how our law enforcement should behave to catch these drunk drivers." 

2 Wants to Know's Frank Mickens gets answers on how the driver got off and what it could mean to future DWI cases. 

You can watch the full story tonight at 11 on WFMY News 2.

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DWI Contest Gets Case Thrown Out

DWI Contest Gets Case Thrown Out

Greensboro, NC -- Drunk drivers kill innocent people every day. Some questionable actions by those who are supposed to protect us could comprise dozens of local DWI cases.

"I think it was misconstrued, and there was nothing wrong with what we did," says Major Tom Shepherd of the Guilford County Sheriff's Department.

It came as a shock to us, investigators having a contest just to do their jobs. That contest outweighed the court's role in determining one man's guilt or innocence.

It was a routine stop according to Major Shepherd, except for the fact the driver was a Greensboro Police Officer.

"In my opinion and everyone else's opinion who has looked at this, he had reasonable suspicion to stop that vehicle. He did nothing wrong."

But, a judge didn't see it the same way and threw out the case.

"Law enforcement should not have incentives to make arrests or to charge citizens," says Joel Oakley, defense attorney for the officer.

Joel Oakley describes that incentive as a contest.

"The problem is when they are using incentive to get something other than mere protection. Instead of me being out here doing my normal job I am going to find someone doing something just to charge them just to see if I can win."

In an effort to stress DWI's in district two, a lieutenant offered a free lunch to the deputy who made the most case.

"You're talking about paying for a five-dollar lunch, to me that's nothing. That's not a quota system, that's not asking people go chase all around Guilford County looking for drunk drivers," says Maj. Shepherd.

"You don't see anything wrong with them having a motivation to make arrests?" asks Frank Mickens from WFMY News 2.

"No, and every law enforcement agency in Guilford County does the same thing," answers Maj. Shepherd. "What he was trying to do was to advance the goals of the Sheriff's Department and get drunk drivers off the roads in Guilford County."

The Guilford County Sheriff's Department couldn't answer questions about how many deputies were involved and how long the contest ran. This creates another question: how many cases could this possibly affect?

"If some body comes in that was charged during the period which this contest was going on which those cases could very much still be alive, it usually takes more than six months to trial, cases could be out there, yes," says Joel Oakley.

"I don't care what it takes. We have got to get drunk drivers off the road, to hold them responsible for what they do. My daughter is dead because of a drunk driver," says Chuck Kennedy, who lost his daughter to a drunk driver.

Kennedy disagrees with the judge. He feels even if there was an incentive, people were still driving drunk.

"There are more rights in the criminal system then the victims. The individual was still drunk, he blew over the legal limit and should be held accountable for it."

"So what happened to the person who made this arrangement with his subordinates?" asks Frank Mickens.

"Nothing. He was told that was probably not the best way to go about it as far as the public perception. But other than that nothing," responds Maj. Shepherd.

"This is not something you're aware of happening on a regular basis in the Guilford County Sheriff's Department?"

"I've never heard of it happening before," replies the major. "This particular situation won't happen again."

The Greensboro Police officer who got pulled over eventually had his case expunged from court records.

The department reprimanded him, but he is still a member of the force.

While the Sheriff's Department couldn't tell us how many deputies were involved or for how long, we looked at the DWI arrests at that time, dozens of cases could be affected by the contest.

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