A Perry couple was arrested Sunday afternoon after they were allegedly found to be drunk driving with their teenage child.
Leonard Dayle Channell, 37, of 516 Clear View Dr., Perry, was charged with first-offense OWI and child endangerment with injury.
April Dale Channell, 39, of 516 Clear View Dr., Perry, was charged with public intoxication.
The incident began about 4:15 p.m. Sunday in the 600 block of First Avenue, where a patrolling officer of the Perry Police Department saw April Channell in a parking lot and “sitting on the concrete outside of” a 2002 Ford Windstar.
The officer approached the vehicle and when Channell “attempted to get up from the concrete,” the officer observed her “unsure balance, slurred speech and a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage resonating from her person,” according to court records.
Channell allegedly “admitted multiple times that she was drunk,” and a test of breath alcohol content administered at the Perry Police Department returned a result of .127%.
The officer also made contact with Leonard Channell, the driver of the Windstar, who also allegedly presented “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, and he exhibited slurred speech and unsure balance,” according to court records.
The officer observed “an open bottle of Fireball whiskey, banana shots, and multiple cans of beer” inside “the front of the vehicle,” according to court records.
Channell “admitted to consuming six beers and two shots within the last hour,” according to court records. A blood alcohol content test administered at the Perry Police Department returned a result of .176%.
A 13-year-old juvenile was also present as a passenger in the vehicle.
April Channell was cited and released by the Perry Police Department. She is scheduled to appear Oct. 26 in Dallas County District Court.
Leonard Channell is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $3,000 cash or surety bond in advance of an initial appearance Monday in Dallas County District Court.
Leonard Channell was convicted of second-offense OWI in 2009 in Webster County District Court. He was arrested on a charge of child endangerment in 2017 in Grimes, where his 19-month-old child was in the vehicle at a gas station when Channell allegedly “picked up misc ammo from a guy he says he sees from time to time, drinking behind a dumpster,” while near the child was “a marijuana bong face mask,” and “at the child’s feet” was “an opened bottle of Black Velvet.” The charge was later dismissed in Polk County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
