Police: Man Shows off Veteran's Card to Get out of DUI Arrest

A man showed off his military veteran's card in an attempt to get out of a DUI arrest Wednesday (Nov. 20) in Loganville. 

According to the Loganville Police Report, an officer saw the 53-year-old driver swerving and failing to maintain his lane on GA 10 around 1:05 a.m. He also allegedly didn't use his turn signal when switching lanes, so the cop pulled him over in the Kroger shopping center and asked for his license. His son was sitting in the passenger's seat. 

Appearing nervous, the driver told the officer that he had used his signal but there may be a short in the wiring, so he asked if he could get out of the car and check the light. While the officer allowed him to do so, the cop was able to smell a strong marijuana-like odor coming from the truck. 

When the officer asked the driver where the marijuana was, he acted confused and said he was just getting off work and trying to get home without causing any trouble.

The officer pointed out that he didn't answer the question, so the driver responded by pulling out a card displaying that he was a military veteran. 

"I advised him that I appreciate his service, but I needed him to answer the initial question," wrote the officer in the report. 

The driver gave up and placed a purple plastic container containing a joint and marijuana on the patrol car. When asked, he also admitted that he had drank alcohol earlier that evening before work and smoked marijuana half an hour before being pulled over.

While he was being handcuffed, the driver said, "My son had nothing to do with this. Everything is mine!" according to the report. The passenger said he didn't have any drugs on him, and the officer only found closed beer bottles and bottle tops in the vehicle. 

The driver was arrested and charged with failure to maintain lane, improper lane change, possession of marijuana and driving under the influence of drugs. He agreed to a breath test, but blew a 0.000 grams on both attempts. He also completed a blood test for further testing and was transported to the Walton County Jail. 

Inside the Police Reports runs regularly every week. The information is based solely on police incident reports provided on request. It does not indicate a conviction.