Drunk Driver Arrested In Front Of Police Station

It is rare that police officers have the convenience of conducting an arrest practically on their front doorstep, but recently, a Melvindale officer had the luxury of conducting a traffic stop just outside of the police department parking lot.

Apparently, while leaving the department on Oakwood Drive, the officer was in the act of pulling out of the parking lot in his cruiser, when a green Chevy Tahoe flew by at high speed. The officer immediately pulled the vehicle over.

The driver, a 36-year-old male resident of Trenton, immediately admitted to the officer that he was driving without a valid drivers licence and had marijuana in the vehicle with him. According to the officer who conducted the traffic stop, the vehicle also smelled strongly of alcohol.

The driver was asked to perform a roadside sobriety test, which he apparently failed. He was then arrested for drunk driving. A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered the bag of marijuana and a joint that the driver had told the officer about. He was then cited for possession.

Back at the station, police conducted a Breathalyzer test and the results revealed the driver had a BAC of .16 blood. This is twice the legal limit in Michigan, and almost super drunk: it is one point below the required level for superdrunk, at which point the driver’s penalties would be doubled. However, according to court records, he has three prior convictions for drunk driving.

Under Michigan law, two drunk driving convictions in a seven year period, or three in a ten year period, the charge of operating while intoxicated becomes a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.

Under Michigan law, possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.