Austin Edwards

A teenager was arrested twice on the same day — just hours apart — for suspicion of driving under the influence on both ends of Butler County.

Austin M. Edwards, 18, who lists addresses in Slippery Rock and Virginia, was initially found about 2 p.m. Oct. 20 in a BMW sedan in the Cranberry Mall parking lot on Route 19.

Cranberry Township police had been on the lookout for the driver of the BMW, who a short time earlier had reportedly cut off another motorist on Interstate 79 in Muddy Creek Township.

Edwards appeared impaired when police found him, said Cranberry police Sgt. William Ahlgren. He was arrested after being evaluated by a state police drug recognition expert, or DRE, at the township’s station.

He was taken for a blood test at UPMC Passavant in Cranberry. Ahlgren said DUI charges are pending toxicology results.

The suspect was released to his girlfriend about 6:30 p.m.

Investigators, however, believe it wasn’t long before he was back at the Cranberry Mall, where his car was still waiting.

And soon after, police said, Edwards was back behind the wheel and presumably headed to Slippery Rock.

Slippery Rock police were notified and shortly after 8 p.m., Patrolman Derek Dickey spotted the suspect’s car on Elm Street.

The officer stopped the car and immediately suspected Edwards was impaired, court documents said.

Dickey asked the defendant about his arrest earlier that day in Cranberry Township but “he seemed confused and began telling (the officer) about an unrelated incident,” according to a police affidavit.

Edwards, however, denied he was under the influence and started arguing with Dickey.

He was taken to the borough police station and again evaluated by a state police DRE. The tests revealed indicators that Edwards was on drugs.

The defendant at one point admitted to police that he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day.

He was placed in the Butler County Prison that night and arraigned Friday morning on a charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

He was released Saturday after posting $10,000 bail.

State police, meanwhile, cited Edwards for careless driving and disregarding traffic lanes for the I-79 traffic violation.

The defendant told police that he is a student at Slippery Rock University. But an SRU spokesman said he could find not record that Edwards was enrolled there.