A Williamsburg man, who was arrested in late 2004 for allegedly driving while drunk, had his charges dismissed Monday afternoon in Whitley District Court.
About 10:24 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2004, Kentucky State Police Trooper Gary Martin charged Jimmy W. Gray, who was 49 years old at the time, with driving while under the influence of alcohol/drugs and carrying a concealed weapon.
District Judge Cathy Prewitt dismissed the charges Monday afternoon. The court docket notes that the reason for the dismissal was that the arresting officer failed to appear and was no longer with the agency.
Martin, who retired from the Kentucky State Police in January 2009, said Tuesday afternoon that no one contacted him about Monday’s hearing.
"All I can tell you is I didn’t get a subpoena. If I got subpoenaed. I would have had to have been there," he noted.
Court records indicate that from Oct. 26, 2005, until Monday’s dismissal, there was only one other scheduled court hearing in the case, which never took place. The case history indicated a Jan. 23, 2007, pretrial conference was scheduled at one time, but was canceled prior to a hearing being held.
The arrest citation indicates that Gray was arrested along the northbound off ramp of I-75 near Exit 15.
Police responded to a call and located Gray behind the wheel. He was the lone occupant in the vehicle.
When asked to perform sobriety tests, he allegedly stated, "I’m busted. I drank 14 beers," Martin wrote.
A witness in the case told police that Gray allegedly "blew by him" weaving, the citation stated.
Gray allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .206, according to his arrest citation. At the time, a person was considered legally intoxicated in Kentucky with a blood alcohol level of 0.10.
Police recovered a .38 caliber gun in the console of Gray’s vehicle, his arrest citation stated.
In February 2005, Gray’s attorney, Jane Butcher, filed a motion to have the charges dismissed because the arresting officer made no independent observation of Gray operating his vehicle, and didn’t determine when and where the defendant started drinking.
Court records don’t indicate that a ruling was made on the motion to dismiss, or on a motion to return Gray’s .22 Derringer, his .38 Smith & Wesson or his carrying a concealed weapon permit, which Martin seized.
