Commonwealth's Attorney Ward arrested on DUI
By TOM BERRY
Staff Writer
Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Ward was arrested for a second time in five months for allegedly driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
According to Tpr. Dean Patterson, public information officer for KSP Post 1 in Mayfield, Ward was arrested at 12:03 a.m. Saturday, about a half hour after he was stopped on Ky. 450 near Symsonia in Graves County, and charged with DUI. He spent 10 hours in Graves County Jail and was released on a $3,500 bond.
Noting his previous DUI arrest in Benton in February, Ward, in a faxed statement to the Ledger & Times, apologized to constituents in Calloway and Marshall counties, friends and family, and asked for continued support and prayer in his struggles with alcohol and his recent diagnosis of an unspecified form of cancer.
“This past week I was diagnosed with cancer. We have been developing a plan to fight this disease,” he said in a statement through Mayfield attorneys Dennis Null and Will Kautz. “Unfortunately relapsing into drinking alcohol was not part of the plan. But it happened.
“I plan to deal with this DUI the proper way, the cancer as aggressively as I can, and continue my struggle against drinking alcohol.”
According to the arrest citation from the Graves County Circuit Court Clerk's office this morning, deputies from the Marshall County Sheriff's Department received a call concerning a possible DUI. Marshall County deputies located Ward on Ky. 450 in Graves County and advised Ward he was driving in the left lane of the roadway and nearly struck another vehicle.
Upon arrival, KSP Tpr. Brad Ramsey observed Ward standing by his Honda Accord, “stumbling around, nearly falling at times and appeared as though he'd urinated on his pants.”
The citation stated that Ward smelled of a strong odor of alcohol. When asked about alcohol use, Ward stated he had drank about nine beers prior to driving. A breathalizer alcohol test measured .164. The citation also stated that prior to sobriety testing, Ward guessed his blood alcohol level would be a .150.
Blood and urine samples were not requested.
Ward pleaded guilty to his first DUI offense in March following his arrest the previous month near the Serenity Shores subdivision east of Benton. He served an eight day jail sentence and was fined $200. Afterward, he began court-ordered substance abuse counseling for an admitted alcohol addiction.
He was allowed to continue the duties of chief prosecutor for Calloway and Marshall counties because DUI is classified as a misdemeanor. However Circuit Court Judge Dennis Foust, who also handles cases in Calloway and Marshall counties, asked Ward to resign his office, citing a “credibility gap” regarding the duties of the office. Ward declined.
According to his statement Saturday, Ward said he has continued to perform the duties of the commonwealth's attorney in an “effective, committed manner” during the past several months.
Ward, who served in the office for 19 years before he was defeated by former Commonwealth's Attorney Gayle Cook in 2000, regained the office during the May 2006 Primary election.
Story created Jul 14, 2008 - 13:33:38 EDT.
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