Resources | Another politician pleads guilty |
| Friday, 11 August 2006 | |
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It would be best for the City [revenue] not to spotlight the weaknesses and apparent absurdity of the Georgia DUI laws and the junk science underlying them Peachtree City manager pleads guilty to golf cart DUI Gets 24 hours in jail, $800 fine, license suspension; can seek work permit to drive Peachtree City Manager Bernie McMullen pled guilty Thursday morning to charges stemming from his DUI arrest June 2 while operating a golf cart in the parking lot of the city’s amphitheater. McMullen pled guilty to DUI and possession of an open container of alcohol. He was sentenced to spend 24 hours in jail as required by Georgia law, an $800 fine, a year’s probation, 40 hours of community service and several other conditions such as a ban on alcohol consumption with random drug and alcohol screening. Fayette County State Court Judge Fletcher Sams said McMullen could apply for a special permit to drive to and from work only while his regular driver’s license is suspended for one year. After the hearing, McMullen said he was hopeful that the city especially could move forward. “I made a mistake,” McMullen said in a brief statement after the court hearing. He added that he hoped the guilty plea would allow the city to move forward from the incident. McMullen was arrested June 2 after two of the police department’s top-ranking officers noticed that he was driving a golf cart after the Temptations concert with a glass of wine in his hand. The officers noticed that McMullen’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot and his speech was slurred, indicating that he was too impaired to drive. The incident so caught the officers off guard that they briefly considered calling a cab for McMullen instead of arresting him. McMullen refused to submit to a blood alcohol test. But his attorney, Clay Collins, indicated that he thought McMullen could have mounted a credible defense to the charges. Instead, McMullen decided to do what he thought was best for the city and all involved by pleading guilty, Collins said. “He is accepting full responsibility,” Collins told the court. “He has owned up to do the right thing as he has from the very beginning.” Since McMullen’s arrest, Mayor Harold Logsdon has assumed the supervisory role over the police department. That arrangement will continue until Oct. 1 which is the time frame for the annual performance review of Police Chief James Murray; that review will be written by Logsdon instead of McMullen to keep everything above board, Logsdon said. Judge Sams gave McMullen 20 days to work out with jail staff when he will serve the remainder of his jail sentence. He will be credited for the small amount of time he spent in jail immediately after the arrest while awaiting bond. Fayette County Solicitor Jamie Inagawa, who agreed to the negotiated plea deal, said he wanted to make sure McMullen was treated just as any other citizen would have been under the same circumstances.             |
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