A Perry man was arrested in downtown Perry early Saturday for drunk driving and uncooperativeness.
Drew Erik Mason, 23, of 2205 North St., Perry, was charged with first-offense OWI and interference with official acts.
The incident began about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 1000 block of Second Street, where an officer of the Perry Police Department observed a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander “traveling at a high rate of speed southbound on Second Street” and then running a stop sign at Second Street and Otley Avenue, according to court records.
The officer initiated a traffic stop and made contact with Mason, the driver, who allegedly presented with “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, and he exhibited slurred speech, bloodshot, watery eyes and a pale complexion,” according to court records.
Mason allegedly told the officer “multiple times that he was ‘drunk,'” according to court records.
The field sobriety exercises were suspended due to Mason’s “nearly falling multiple times,” and a DataMaster breath test later registered a blood alcohol content of .226%.
Mason allegedly “refused to sign the criminal complaint” for OWI “and further refused to sign the citations received for failure to obey a stop sign and open container” in spite of being “given multiple chances,” according to court records.
Mason was held in the Dallas County Jail on a $1,300 cash or surety bond in advance of an initial appearance in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
