Pennsylvania police say that a tip from a member of Community Watch led to the arrest of a man who was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol. The driver was charged with drunk driving and booked into an area police station from which he later posted a $1,000 bond. It is unclear if he has any DUI defense plans as of yet.
The Community Watch member called police at shortly after 1:30 a.m. on a recent Saturday. The witness told police that he had spotted a man driving at only 5 mph and had started following him. According to the witness, the driver fluctuated how fast or slow he was driving, going as slow as 5 mph up to 40. When police arrived on the scene they found the driver had stopped in the roadway.
Police reported that the 75-year-old driver said he did not understand why he had been pulled over. However, attending officers noticed that the driver’s eyes appeared bloodshot and that he was slurring his speech. EMS checked the driver out for possible medical problems but gave him an otherwise clean bill of health. The driver then complied with an officer’s request for field sobriety test and reportedly lost his balance several times, which he blamed on his age. Subsequent blood-alcohol testing produced results of .125 and .128 percent.
Defendants are often surprised by how quickly DUI charges tend to proceed. Many Pennsylvania defendants feel ill-prepared for dealing with their charges and even miss out on opportunities to retain their driving privileges. As such, working with a DUI defense attorney as early on as possible is usually a good idea for most defendants.
