Onondaga County Deputy Charged with Drunk Driving
by King Law
Drunk driving is taken extremely seriously in New York, and anyone who is facing drunk driving charges should seek advice from a Syracuse DWI defense lawyer as soon as possible to avoid a conviction with serious consequences. New York has laws that result in both driving while ability impaired (DWAI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI), and convictions for either of these offenses can result in significant criminal penalties. According to a recent article in Syracuse.com, an Onondaga County deputy was recently arrested for drunk driving after a previous offense in 2017 that involved a hit-and-run. Our experienced criminal defense attorneys want to tell you more about the recent arrest.
Deputy Arrested on DWI Offense
As the article reports, deputies with the Onondaga County sheriff’s office stopped Kevin Drumm, 38, who is also an Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy. The stop occurred before midnight in mid-October while Drumm was traveling southbound on Interstate 481. The deputies who stopped Drumm were alerted to the possibility of an intoxicated driver after a 911 caller reported “someone driving a pickup truck erratically on the highway.” The deputies stopped Drumm close to the Route 298 exit off the NY State Thruway in northeast Syracuse. That information came from Sgt. Jon Seeber, who the article lists as a spokesperson for the Onondaga County sheriff’s department.
When Drumm was stopped, the deputies reported that he “appeared to be drunk,” yet Drumm “refused to take a breath test for alcohol.” The deputies arrested him. While the deputy was previously arrested for and charged with leaving the scene of an accident back in 2017, which we will discuss shortly, the recent DWI charge is his first offense. Even a first DWI offense in New York can result in up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, and a mandatory license revocation for at least 6 months. Refusing to take a chemical test, including a breath test, can be charged as a separate offense that can result in a $500 penalty and a driver’s license revocation for at least one year. In addition to a DWI charge in the recent arrest, Drumm also facing charges for refusing to take a chemical test and for making an unsafe lane change.
Previous Charges for Onondaga County Deputy
The charges Drumm faced in 2017 were not related to drunk driving, according to the article. At that time, news reports indicated that Drumm “sideswiped a car in Tully and drove another couple miles before going off the road onto someone’s lawn.” When deputies were called to the scene, they did not administer a breath test. The New York State Motor Vehicle police accident report from the incident indicated that Drumm told a deputy he “dropped some food that he was holding,” and as a result of that distraction, was involved in the accident. Drumm said he did not believe he had hit another vehicle, but rather that he “believed he had hit debris in the roadway.”
Drumm “later testified that he had had four or five beers in the few hours before the accidents,” and he was suspended without pay. However, the charges he faced were later dropped, and the deputy has no drunk driving convictions on his record. Yet as we noted above, even a conviction for a first-time DWI can have serious repercussions.
Contact Our DWI Defense Lawyers in Syracuse
If you are facing DWI charges, a Syracuse DWI defense attorney at our firm can assist you. Contact King Law to learn more.
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