While warnings from law enforcement – and even beer companies – to drink responsibly over the Memorial Day holiday were plentiful, police reports suggest local officers might think those warnings weren’t always heeded.
During the long holiday weekend, Carter County and city authorities charged a number of people with alcohol-related offenses.
Officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department charged six people with DUI between Friday and Monday, while officers of the Elizabethton Police Department charged three people with public intoxication during that same time period.
One of the individuals charged with DUI by the Sheriff’s Department was issued a criminal summons in lieu of arrest due to injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident. In that case, 29-year-old Ronnie Lee Carr Jr., of 392 Judge Ben Allen Road, was charged with DUI by CCSD Lt. Michael Bean after a single-vehicle accident on Wilbur Dam Road near the lake recreation area.
Bean said in his report on the incident that he was dispatched to Wilbur Dam Road on a report of a possible accident with injuries and while he was responding to the location he was advised by 911 dispatchers that someone had called and reported he had picked up two male subjects from a motor vehicle accident and driven them to a local gas station. According to the report, Bean continued on to the crash site while an officer with the Elizabethton Police Department responded to the gas station, which is inside the city limits, to check out the report of the two males involved in a crash.
Upon arriving at the scene, Bean said he saw a gray SUV off the roadway which had struck some trees on the driver’s side of the vehicle. “Once I approached the vehicle, I noticed a large amount of blood on the driver side and on the passenger side of the vehicle,” he said in his report. “The driver side steering wheel appeared to have been pushed back toward the driver and the driver side door was caved in toward the driver. The window on the driver side door had been busted out as well.”
After observing the wreck, Bean responded to the gas station to meet with the EPD officer who responded to that location. Upon speaking with the two men, officers were able to determine that Carr had been driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Bean said in his report that he could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Carr’s person and that Carr admitted consuming alcohol but refused to perform any field sobriety tests.
“I then noticed that Mr. Carr had a significant laceration on his stomach and what appeared to be several lacerations on the left side of his arm,” Lt. Bean said in his report. “Mr. Carr also had small glass fragments on him consistent with window glass from a vehicle.”
Carr refused medical treatment from the Carter County Rescue Squad for his injuries, but was transported to Sycamore Shoals Hospital for treatment due to the fact that he was being charged with DUI. Due to the extent of his injuries, Carr was issued a criminal summons in lieu of arrest.
The investigation into a suspicious vehicle in Roan Mountain led to the driver being arrested and charged with multiple offenses on Monday night.
James David Lannoye, 32, of Roan Mountain, was arrested Monday night shortly after 11 p.m. by CCSD Deputy Samantha Maney and charged with DUI, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and financial responsibility.
According to police reports, Maney and Deputy Brian Smithpeters were patrolling a “rural area” of Teaberry Road in Roan Mountain when they observed a vehicle off the side of the road running without any lights on.
“We then made contact with the driver, identified as James D. Lannoye, and a 15-year-old female juvenile in the passenger seat,” said Deputy Maney in her report. “Mr. Lannoye had red glossy eyes and appeared to be intoxicated. The juvenile also had red glossy eyes and slurred speech.” Deputy Maney also said in her report that officers saw two open containers of alcohol between the juvenile female’s feet and that Lannoye admitted to officers that he and the juvenile had both been drinking.
Lannoye was then placed into custody and transported to the Carter County Detention Center. The juvenile female was transported to the Carter County Sheriff’s Department but no further information was available regarding whether the female was charged in connection with the incident.
The following individuals were also arrested on alcohol-related charges over the Memorial Day weekend:
• Earl Lee Dugger, 70, 614 Garrison Hollow Road, Elizabethton, was arrested Friday by CCSD Deputy Tylor Johnson and charged with third offense DUI after a motor vehicle accident on Swimming Pool Road in Hampton.
• Debra Eileen Trivette, 52, 1406 Clifside Drive, Lenoir, N.C., was arrested Friday by CCSD Deputy Tylor Johnson and charged with DUI and violation of implied consent after a motor vehicle accident on Siam Road.
• Jonathan Ryan Taylor, 22, 1484 Milligan Highway, Apt. 21, Johnson City, was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Samantha Maney and charged with DUI after a traffic stop on the Milligan Highway.
• Ryan Keith Steele, 38, 1626 Highway 91, Apt. 2, Elizabethton, was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Jason Mosier and charged with DUI, violation of implied consent, violation of open container law and possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop on Highway 91.
• Harold Stevens, 44, 1739 W. G St., Elizabethton, was arrested Monday by Elizabethton Police Department Officer Justin Pearce and charged with public intoxication after a disturbance at a mobile home park.
• Kurt Kneuker, 35, 152 Deer Creek Crossing, Mountain City, was arrested Sunday by EPD Officer Dustin Johnson and charged with public intoxication after a disturbance at Wal-Mart.
• Derrick Davis, 36, 701 Hemlock St., Elizabethton, was arrested Saturday by EPD Officer Dustin Garland and charged with public intoxication after a report of an intoxicated person roaming around the parking lot of a local grocery store.