Alleged seat belt violation leads to NC DWI and felony charges
Friday, May 4th, 2012Police have arrested a North Carolina man on a long string of criminal charges after a car chase that allegedly began in North Wilkesboro and ended in Hays. The allegations arose from an alleged seat belt violation. The North Carolina Highway Patrol says the 20-year-old was driving while impaired on allegations that he was under the influence of marijuana and cocaine at the time of the chase.
Law enforcement asserts that the man was traveling with his 39-year-old mother, and she has been charged with aiding and abetting DWI and aiding and abetting her son in driving while revoked.
In addition to the DWI charges, the 20-year-old man is accused of underage DWI, as he remains under the age of 21 and police say that he was driving at a time when his provisional license was revoked. The young man, however, is facing other very serious charges in relation to the alleged 40-minute police chase.
Law enforcement accuses the Mulberry man of felony level charges, including speeding to elude arrest, and felony drug possession and weapons charges. A string of alleged traffic violations have also been tacked on to the list of allegations.
The alleged incident reportedly arose when a North Carolina Trooper says he noticed a driver operating a vehicle without a seat belt in North Wilkesboro. The Trooper says that he made a U-turn and the alleged unbelted driver committed some minor traffic violations.
The Trooper claims that he jumped to the conclusion that the driver must have been impaired and the Trooper activated his lights and sirens to make a traffic stop. Apparently that’s when the Trooper claims the chase was on.
The Mulberry man has reportedly been released from the Wilkes County Jail after posting a ,000 bond.
Source: Wilkes Journal-Patriot, “Numerous charges filed after high-speed chase Wednesday,” April 6, 2012