Well, at least he had the good sense not to drive

The heartwarming story comes to us from the Albany (NY) Times-Union…

An Albany man whom police say was drunk was arrested at Crossgates Mall Sunday afternoon after he allegedly allowed his 9-year-old daughter to drive the family minivan.

Eugene A. Singleton, 57, of Albany, was arrested by Guilderland police and charged under Leandra’s Law after they received a report from mall security of an accident in the Crossgates Mall parking lot in front of The Standard restaurant.

When officers arrived on the scene, they said they learned that Singleton had driven to the mall with his wife, Sabrina Singleton, 31, and their two children, ages 9 and 7. While Sabrina Singleton went into the mall to shop, Eugene Singleton allowed his daughter to drive their minivan around the mall parking lot under his supervision.

But the girl crashed the minivan and police arrived to find Eugene Singleton allegedly drunk. Guilderland police officer Paul Mahan charged Singleton with aggravated DWI under Leandra’s Law, which makes it a felony on the first offense to drive drunk with a child under the age of 15 in the vehicle. He also faces charges of driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police said Singleton had a blood alcohol content of .12 percent. Singleton was taken to Albany County Correctional Facility on $20,000 bail.

Sabrina Singleton was charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allowing her husband to drive the car with their children on board when she allegedly knew he had been drinking. She was issued an appearance ticket and the couple will appear in town court on May 13.

Officer, that house just jumped out right in front of me

This comes to us from the Buffalo (NY) News…

A Texas man who was smoking pot and driving when his rented car crashed into a house, killing his wife, learned Wednesday that he will serve 60 days in Niagara County Jail, a sentence that could be reduced to 45 days for good behavior.

Paul J. Sonnenmeier, 42, of Mesquite, had pleaded guilty Nov. 20 to vehicular manslaughter.

He and his common-law wife of 18 years, Linda Hosler, 45, were both smoking pot when Sonnenmeier crashed the 2009 Lincoln sedan into a house at 5679 Tonawanda Creek Road North in Pendleton at 9:30 a. m. April 27. The homeowner was not injured.

Both Sonnenmeier and Hosler had grown up in the Lockport area. Some family members in the courtroom broke into tears as he was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III told Sonnenmeier that he appreciated he had never been in trouble before and had no prior record. But he said, “There had to be some type of consequences for smoking marijuana while operating a vehicle.”

Assistant District Attorney Theodore A. Brenner said, “This is so sad. He’s not a bad guy.”

Sonnenmeier’s attorney, John Jordan, asked for no jail time so Sonnenmeier wouldn’t lose his job. He said Hosler was “the love of his life,” and he helped to raise his three stepsons.

Jordan said the two youngest, who are 21 and 25 and are still living with Sonnenmeier, wrote poignant letters of support of his character. The court received an additional 19 letters of support from clergy and other friends.

“Paul is very remorseful and will carry this burden for the rest of his life,” he said of his client. “They were both regular users of marijuana, which I don’t condone, but this would be a tragic loss for the boys to lose both of their parents. I don’t believe jail is an appropriate sanction, and if you put him in jail, he will lose his job.”

Sonnenmeier said he has given up both marijuana and alcohol. “I truly see the error of my ways. Every day I hope I can get through this,” he said.

Jordan asked for weekends in jail and probation in Texas. While Murphy denied the request for no jail time, he did say Sonnenmeier could serve his five years of probation in Texas.

Sonnenmeier was ordered to maintain employment, submit to alcohol and drug testing, and perform 200 hours of community service.

He also was fined $1,000 and told to pay restitution of $17,110 to the homeowner, Joseph Smith, for damage to the house. However, the amount remains under discussion, since insurance may have paid for the damage, and restitution may need to be paid to the rental car firm’s insurance company, according to Jordan.

Former pitcher Doc Gooden busted for DWI

Sporting news brought to us by the New York Post and Fox News…

Former Mets and Yankee ace Dwight “Doc” Gooden was busted for DWI in New Jersey with a kid in his car after cops responded to a 911 call of a car accident involving two cars.

Gooden, 45, was arrested Tuesday in Franklin Lakes at about 8:50 a.m. after getting into the crash while under the influence of drugs, Deadspin.com reported.

Gooden, who has previously served time behind bars on a cocaine conviction, was released on his own recognizance.

The Mets invited Gooden to spring training this season to serve as an advisor.

Cops said Gooden was arrested and charged with multiple crimes including, driving while under the influence of drugs, being under the Influence of a controlled dangerous substance, endangering the welfare of a child, DWI with a child passenger, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, reckless driving, failure to keep right and failure to notify change of address regarding driver’s license.

Gooden has a storied history of substance abuse dating back to his playing days in the late ’80s.

In 1986, Gooden was arrested and pleaded no contest to battery on an officer and resisting arrest with violence after scuffle with Tampa police officers; sentenced to three years’ probation

A year later, he tested positive for cocaine at training camp and goes to drug rehab for 28 days.

In 1992, Gooden was one of three players accused of raping 31-year-old woman a year earlier at a home he rented for training camp. The charge is later dropped

Two years later, he was suspended for 60 days after violating drug program by failing two drug tests. he later checked into Betty Ford Center, but failed more tests after returning. As a result, Major League Baseball’s executive committee suspended him for the 1995 season

In 2002, Gooden pleaded guilty to reduced charge of reckless driving after he was arrested in Tampa. A year later, he was busted for driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop in Tampa.

North Carolina cop resigns after picking up DWI

This comes from the Gaston (NC) Gazette…

A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy was charged with driving while impaired just days after joining the force.

Bradley Morrow took an oath of office Friday morning. By Sunday morning, Morrow blew a 0.21 on the Breathalyzer administered after he crashed his car in eastern Lincoln County.

North Carolina considers a driver drunk with a 0.08 blood-alcohol content.

A woman who was outside walking her dog called 911 after hearing the wreck.

“I heard it crash. I see lights flashing,” the woman told the dispatcher. “I was out with my dog and I heard it crash and I don’t know what it hit.”

The woman made a second call to 911 once she had her cell phone in hand. Morrow can be heard in the background of the call.

“Tell them to call my dad, Lynn Morrow,” Bradley Morrow said to the caller.

Lynn Morrow also works for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman repeated Morrow’s instruction then asked him to repeat himself when he told her he was a sheriff’s deputy.

“I’m a Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy… I fell asleep. I was trying to get home,” he told the woman.

The wreck happened near the intersection of King Wilkinson Road and Amity Church Road, a stretch of N.C. 150 near Pumpkin Center Middle School.

A North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper responded to the crash and charged Morrow with driving while impaired.

“Young people make mistakes. They make bad decisions,” said Rick Hensley, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office spokesman. “It’s fortunate that Lynn Morrow is not burying his son today.”

Though Bradley Morrow was hired Friday, he still had 14 weeks of training ahead before he could be put to work, Hensley said.

Morrow resigned Sunday, Hensley said.

Morrow was driving his personal vehicle at the time of the incident. He ran a stop sign before the single-car crash, said Hensley.

“I personally don’t know the young man but he went through a thorough background process,” said Hensley. “I don’t know what kind of judgment he was using when he made this decision.”

Late skipper’s son catches DUI in Seattle

This comes to us from the LA Times…

Jake Harris, the younger son of the late captain Phil Harris of “Deadliest Catch” fame, was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license, plus suspicion of involvement in a hit-and-run a few hours earlier.

The 24-year-old was pulled over on Interstate 5 near downtown Seattle about 9 p.m. and arrested after failing a field sobriety test, according to Washington State Trooper Dan McDonald. Troopers learned that a car matching the description of Harris’ BMW had rear-ended another vehicle on I-5 about four hours earlier and that its driver had fled the scene, he said.

A family spokesman confirmed the arrest but told KIRO-TV in Seattle that Jake wasn’t intoxicated and hadn’t been in an accident.

Phil Harris, captain of the Cornelia Marie, died Feb. 9 after suffering a stroke in January. In comments on this blog, the outpouring of love and support for Jake and his brother Josh Harris in the wake of their dad’s death was truly touching. Both sons work as deckhands on the show, though immediately after his father’s stroke Josh had stayed aboard, awaiting the arrival of another captain.

“The boys are holding up as much as possible,” executive producer Thom Beers told Show Tracker in an  interview published this morning about the “Deadliest Catch” marathon that Discovery will air Sunday.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Thanks to the New York Post for this one…

He was a little early for breakfast.

An allegedly drunken off-duty cop slammed his car into the front of Tiffany’s flagship Fifth Avenue store at 3 a.m. yesterday, leaving the famous store’s façade looking more like a highway guardrail, police sources said.

The wreck happened as Officer Raphael Ospina, 27, was driving east on 57th Street. He allegedly collided with a private garbage truck heading in the opposite direction and turning left onto Fifth Avenue.

After clipping the truck, Ospina’s Chrysler 300 sedan, with two passengers inside, jumped a curb, crushed a tree and a garbage can and hit the front of the famous jewelry store.

The impact was strong enough that the three occupants had to be cut out of the vehicle. All were taken to Bellvue Hospital for treatment. The garbage-truck driver was uninjured.

Blood and shattered glass littered the scene.

Ospina, who joined the force in 2004, was so out of it that he told detectives that the year was 2009 and George W. Bush was still president, sources said.

The officer was charged yesterday with DWI and one count of vehicular assault, for the injury to his passengers, police said. He’s been suspended for 30 days without pay.

Ospina’s brother, Daniel, 19, said the officer suffered broken ribs in the wreck.

Daniel said the two passengers were neighborhood pals from Queens.

One broke his arm in three places while the other suffered a back injury that required surgery, Daniel said.

Daniel said Raphael is known around the neighborhood as a cop who likes to party.

“Yeah, he likes to live life,” Daniel said. “He’s the type of guy everyone likes to be around. He likes to get people in a great mood.”

Asked if his brother had ever before imbibed before getting behind the wheel, Daniel said: “I’m sure he has. He must have. I don’t know for a fact.”

Daniel said their mom, Martha, cried “hysterically” when she got news of the wreck.

When told that DWI charges had been filed against his brother, Daniel said, “Everyone make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect.”

Bengals rookie charged with DWI

NFL news from ESPN…

CINCINNATI — Police in northern Kentucky have arrested Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga on charges of drunken and careless driving.

Covington police spokesman Spike Jones says Maualuga hit a parking meter and two parked cars early Friday with his 2003 Pontiac. There was minor damage.

The 23-year-old was held about seven hours at the Kenton County jail before being released on his own recognizance.

The Bengals’ 2009 second-round draft choice from Southern Cal started the first 15 games of his rookie season before breaking his left ankle.

Team spokesman Jack Brennan says he won’t comment until the case is resolved. A message was left for agent Gary Uberstine.

Mortimer Snerd was unavailable for comment

Some more local flavor from the Houston Chronicle…

At first, Metro Police officer Miguel Rodriguez thought the man slumped forward in the Toyota pickup had been injured in the four-vehicle wreck Thursday morning. Then he realized it wasn’t a man. It was a dummy dressed in business attire, along for the ride in the inbound HOV lane.

Rodriguez confiscated the legless mannequin after the incident on U.S. 290, near Beltway 8. The mannequin’s owner, Michael Hooper of Houston, was charged with excessive speed and unauthorized use of a high-occupancy vehicle lane. The HOV lane requires at least two people per car.

Hooper rear-ended a car when traffic slowed shortly before 7 a.m., said officials with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which operates the HOV lanes. The second car rode up onto the concrete barrier. Hooper’s truck then hit a third car, pushing it into a fourth. A male passenger in the second car was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Hooper denied he was using the mannequin to sneak solo into the HOV lane.

“I was not using him for that purpose,” said Hooper, 54, an information technology consultant. “I was transporting him somewhere. He was in the front seat.”

Hooper declined to explain where he was taking the mannequin and said he couldn’t say anything about what led to the crash itself because he needed to speak with his insurance company.

Metro Police Capt. Michael Raney said officers confiscate, on average, one fake person a month from motorists in HOV lanes.

The most common type is a baby doll strapped in a car seat. Among fake adults, males are more common than females, he said.

The agency issued 4,683 tickets last year for unauthorized use of the HOV lane. The fine can go as high as $200.

“It should be a real person that is alive and breathing,” Raney said of the HOV passenger requirement. “Infants in the womb don’t count.”

And yes, he’s heard that one too.