Prosecutor charged with North Carolina DWI on bicycle
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011The North Carolina District Attorney’s Summer Association Meeting is being held this week at a Sunset Beach resort. Law enforcement says they received a call about a bike accident along the street where the resort is located. A Sunset Beach officer arrived and says the bike involved in the wreck had been moved. Law enforcement found the lead prosecutor in the Elisa Baker murder case inside the resort with injuries.
Paramedics also responded to the call regarding the bike wreck. The 45-year-old injured prosecutor refused medical treatment. Law enforcement says they asked the man to submit to a breath test, which the man refused. The officer believed the man had been riding the bicycle while impaired and arrested the man on North Carolina drunk driving charges.
After the man was arrested, the Brunswick County jail reportedly refused to take the suspect in, due to his injuries. Just after midnight law enforcement took the man to the hospital. Medical personnel checked the man’s condition and reportedly “said he was fine to go to jail,” according to Sunset Police Chief Lisa Massey. The man was booked into the jail just before 2 a.m. He was released the following morning. A hearing on the DWI charges is scheduled for August 18.
Greenville DWI defense attorneys know that DWI charges related to bicycles are not highly common, but they do occur in the state. In this case, law enforcement says there is no chemical test to show the man’s blood alcohol content. The charges are based upon the opinion of the arresting officer.
Source: Hickory Record, “Police: Prosecutor was riding bike prior to DWI charge,” Sarah Newell Williamson 22 Jun 2011
