Drugged driving case waived
A Butler man facing charges from four driving under the influence of controlled substance arrests this year waived one case to court and a second case was continued Monday.
Douglas Eugene Thompson, 63, waived his hearing before District Judge William Fullerton on two misdemeanor charges of DUI filed by Butler police following a June 2 traffic stop.
His hearing on one misdemeanor count of DUI filed by city police following a June 30 incident was continued and a new date hasn’t been scheduled. Thompson remains in Butler County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bond set in that case.
Police said they located Thompson parking a silver car in a convenience store parking lot on Main Street, after receiving reports of the car swerving on the road in the area of North Main Street and Penn Street at 8 p.m. June 2.
Thompson had slurred speech and fell asleep while Lt. Anthony Fatta was talking to him, Fatta wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Thompson denied that he had been drinking alcohol, but admitted to taking Suboxone and Ativan and was arrested after failing a field sobriety test, according to court documents.
A blood test revealed the presence of buprenorphine-free and lorazepam in his system, police said.
The June 30 incident began around shortly after 5 p.m., when Sgt. Jeremy Walters said he was flagged down by multiple people who told him that a man was sitting in a silver car at a bank machine on New Castle Street for an extended period of time and appeared to be impaired, Walters wrote in an affidavit.
As Walters spotted the car in a parking lot another man approached him and handed him a bank card bearing Thompson’s name that the man said he found on the ground near the bank machine, according to court documents.
Thompson appeared unconscious, but he responded and spoke with slurred speech, police said. His eyes were red and glassy and his motor skills were poor, police said.
He said he had taken two suboxone tablets earlier in the day and was arrested following a field sobriety test, police said.
In May Fullerton ordered Thomason held for court on DUI, possession of a controlled substance and traffic violation charges filed by city police following a May 3 traffic stop.
In February, Thompson waived his hearing before Magisterial District Judge William O’Donnell on DUI, public drunkenness and traffic violation charges filed by state police following a Feb. 8 traffic stop in Franklin Township.
He also was convicted of DUI in 2009 in Connoquenessing Township.
