New blood test results for Terry J. Record, 26, show that his blood-alcohol content Sunday night was between .15 and .17, about twice the level at which an Indiana driver is considered drunk, police said today.
Record has been charged with two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, causing death, and one count of reckless homicide, said Matthew Symons, the prosecutor's spokesman. One of the drunken driving charges is a Class B felony, a more serious charge allowed when blood-alcohol content tests at more than .15.
WRTV reports that witnesses tell police Record spent more than 4 hours at the strip club during which he consumed 14 beers and six shots. Does the word "overserving" come to mind? WRTV also reports Record was fired from his state job on Wednesday.
The Star's Murray reports that Record's attorney, David E. Lewis, will seek to have Record's $100,000 bond reduced at his initial hearing tomorrow. Record's bail was set when he was originally arrested on a lesser Class C felony and OWI charges.
The question everyone who's been following this case closely has been asking this week is whether Record was drinking alone. The town is abuzz with rumors there may have been others drinking with Record at Brad's Brass Flamingo last Sunday night who don't want their names drawn into this tragedy. It was reported earlier that police obtained surveillance video from the strip club showing Record drinking after he denied consuming more than 4 drinks and refused to take a breathalyzer test. Will Record name others and call them as witnesses at his trial?
Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is appointing a special prosecutor to handle the case because Record worked for his office for a brief period before he was fired for lying about his involvement in a hit-and-run last October. Record admitted he struck a parked car and overturned his car after leaving a bar in Broad Ripple but only after he initially reported his car stolen to police. Neither the police nor Brizzi's office pursued charges in that case, or another case in December where Record's vehicle was suspected of being involved in a hit-and-run in downtown Indianapolis resulting in injury to a pedestrian. It will be interesting to see if the prosecutor opens up those cases as well for possible prosecution in this latest incident.
UPDATE: Record's bond was reduced from $100,000 to $10,000 at his hearing this morning in front of Judge Grant Hawkins against the urging of the prosecutor's office. Hawkins says the advisory bond in this case is $5,000. Jon Murray also reports a police officer testified about the second suspected hit-and-run involving Record. Murray writes, "In December, McCalip said, the license plate of Record's car was recorded by a witness to a pedestrian hit-and-run in Downtown Indianapolis." "He admitted he was the owner of the vehicle, but he did not think he was driving at that time," McCalip said. "The crash resulted in minor injuries to the victim, who lives in Pennsylvania, the detective said."
11 comments:
Imagine if Record had been drinking at the Metro instead of a respectable, straight titty bar ... now there would have been a scandal!
We didn't need to go there, Wilson. Nobody wins in this case. I'm not a Republican, but I admire young up-and-coming professionals in both aprties who want to honorably succeed. Our system depends on it, and Record was clearly on a roll. Tragic all around.
But, the question is begged: that much alcohol is true over-serving. When that club's liquor license comes up again, neighbors ought to remonstrate on the over-serving issue alone. It's a home-run. Especially when a death results.
Owning a liquor license is a priveledge, not a right. It comes with responsibilities. I assure you this scene is repeated across the county every night.
Crackdowns would inevitably result in fewer accidents and injuries/death. Simple math.
If Excise cracks down, the joke of a liquor board we have, would have almost no choice but to deny renewals. As a clear public threat/nuisance.
Good point, anon. I'm surprised this doesn't become an issue for more alcohol permittees. I have been appalled by the condition many bars allow their patrons to reach by overserving them and then letting them walk out and climb into their car. Unless the person passes out or becomes beligerant, many bars won't cut them off.
Well, Gary the strip clubs are notoriously bad about this. Their customers are offered expensive drinks to purchase, on behalf of the dancers, and it becomes a ridiculous circular firing squad. No pun intended.
I am having a hard time determining how any person can consume that much alcohol in one evening, then stand, let alone drive. That's an enormous amount of buzz juice. Any normal bar employee should've seen that.
I'm not sure it's enough data for Mrs. Sarge Visher Belle Choate and her minions on the ABC to deny a permit. So, for the record, Excise police need to be contacted when these kinds of things are suspected. They make a visit and a record of that visit, which the ABC must consider.
Fewer bars is not a bad thing. Thanks to the inaction or stupidity of the local/state ABC, and the legislature, convenience stores are now considered groceries. That is a specific definition, which allows them to sell alcohol. Clever huh? And the convenience stores made this argument with a straight face.
Gotta run to the VP to buy my week's groceries. Mmmmmmmm. Beef jerkie casserole with Frito and Milky Way soup.
A jug of wine, too...
They say he was there from 5:30 to 9:00 on Sunday evening and, in that period of time, consumed 14 beers and 6 shots? Ignoring the shots, that's a beer every 15 minutes, or about 0.8 ounces per minute. I did my share of power drinking in my misspent youth, and it seems to me you need a concerted effort to simply get that much fluid in you.
I did some of that math too, Doug...under any formula you use, it's a lot of alcohol. Even with watered-down strip club drinks, it's got to be close to a lethal dose. Seriously. (What is the alcohol poisoning level?)
This is precisely the kind of incident that should get an establishment's liquor license pulled. Now. Sympathies to the victim's family. So very, very sad.
Sadly, the people I've known, who can drink this much, do it pretty regularly. On and off the job. Every day. They need help. This young man had the resources, and the education, to do so. We may not know soon, but it appears he didn't get help. Instead, he was ushered through the political system. With back-slaps and high-fives. (Both parties have their problems...no party owns the franchise here)
We are pretty cavalier about drinking to excess in this city. It occurs all the time. Driving afterward happens too often, too. If this senseless death serves and purpose, it will be to alert us all to the dangers of DUI.
Other than that, I'm sure this strip club is an excellent neighbor, right?
Bail reduced from $100,000 to $10,000!
what was the ridiculous reasoning for that, Gary?
The story gets WORSE! From this morning bail-reduction story in The Star:
In December, McCalip said, the license plate of Record's car was recorded by a witness to a pedestrian hit-and-run in Downtown Indianapolis.
"He admitted he was the owner of the vehicle, but he did not think he was driving at that time," McCalip said. The crash resulted in minor injuries to the victim, who lives in Pennsylvania, the detective said.
According to Hawkins, the advisory bond for his case was $5,000. He doubled it to $10,000.
Lethal levels of alcohol can be as low as .35 BAC, but for a seasoned alcoholic like Jack Cotty, the lethal level would be more like .50
Before going to law school, I worked in a toxicology lab and know this to be fact.
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