Bruce W. Roark, 45, of 323 S. Park St., was charged Tuesday with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs after two witnesses reported he was driving recklessly near his residence.
Officers of the Bellefontaine Police Department responded to the area around 8:05 p.m. and observed a car spewing gravel as it was backed from an alley way into the rear drive of Roark’s residence.
An officer blocked the drive with his cruiser and approached Roark, who exited the car as the officer approached on foot.
He denied he was driving the vehicle about the neighborhood earlier and was merely repositioning it in the drive.
The officer detected a strong odor of alcohol speaking with Roark. Roark also had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, the officer reports.
The motorist used the car to balance himself and did not follow instructions to remain standing in front of the cruiser and stop making calls on his cellular phone.
Roark, who has prior OVI convictions from 2010 and 2020, refused to participate in field sobriety testing or provide a breathalyzer sample.
He was issued citations for reckless operation and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle after officer found an open and cold to the touch can of beer in the car.
He was released to his sister.
• Mekayla M. Carty, 25, of 700 Township Road 179, Apt. 4E, was charged Friday with OVI and possession of marijuana following an 11:10 p.m. traffic stop. She also was issued traffic citations for a marked lanes violation, driving without headlights on and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle.
An officer observed her back a sport utility vehicle from an alley onto the 100 block of west Columbus Avenue and then drive westbound toward Detroit Street without headlights on. She then turned south on Detroit without signalling and did not maintain her lane as she drove south.
A traffic stop was conducted. Officers detected an odor of alcohol talking with her and noted facial injuries. She said she fell while at the Beer Vault, 129 W. Columbus Ave. A Bellefontaine squad responded to check her injuries.
Officers noted her mood would swing from calm and cooperative to agitated and inconsolable. After she refused transport to the hospital, officers moved onto field sobriety testing.
She was unsteady on her feet and unable to follow instructions. Officers believe she was under the influence of alcohol and possibly marijuana.
A 200ml bottle of whiskey was found 25 percent full and a marijuana cigar was found in her shirt pocket.
According to officers, she was too impaired to provide breath samples and she refused to provide urine for testing.
She was released to her husband.
Other arrests
Robert A. Dickinson Jr., 42, at large, was arrested for criminal trespassing and public intoxication at 5:20 p.m. Monday after he showed up at his parent’s 513 W. Columbus Ave. residence uninvited and high on a stimulant.
He was lodged in the Logan County Jail.
• Ernest J. Harber, 32, at large, was charged Monday with theft after he walked out a back door of Community Markets, 309 N. Main St., around 2:15 p.m. with four cases of beer.
He was located two hours later, taken into custody and lodged in jail.