Man shows up to DUI hearing drunk: A West Virginia man's second time around could land him in even more trouble with the law.
According to Charleston police, Stephen Lewis Skiles raised the ire of a judge after he showed up for a DUI hearing - drunk.
Skiles appeared at the administrative hearing at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 14. He had been charged with DUI after a May 19 incident in which he came through a seatbelt educational checkpoint with a blood-alcohol limit of .025, 'well over two times the legal limit,' according to Sgt. Terry Shawn Williams of the Charleston Police Department.
Although Skiles showed, his lawyer didn't. After a 15-minute grace period, 'Mr. Skiles told his version of the story,' Williams said. 'When he started speaking, we immediately detected the odor of alcohol on his breath.'
Skiles claimed he hadn't been drinking that day, but had consumed eight to 10 beers the previous night. He then promised he wouldn't drive home.
But when Williams - who, as the arresting officer in the May 19 incident, was present at the hearing - went out to his unmarked patrol vehicle in the parking lot, there was Skiles.
'[I] saw him pulling out,' Williams said. 'I didn't even have to get in my car.'
Williams stepped in front of Skiles' vehicle and instructed him to step out. He gave Skiles a field sobriety test, which he failed, Williams said.
Skiles now faces a second DUI charge, and a five-to-10 year suspension of his driver's license if he is convicted.
'He didn't learn his lesson,' Williams said.
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