Cobb County Solicitor General Arrested, Charged With DUI

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan was arrested and charged Thursday with driving under the influence and weaving over a roadway, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said in a press release Friday.

Morgan heads the office that prosecutes all misdemeanor DUI cases for Cobb County.

Morgan, 66, was driving his red Chevrolet Corvette south on Interstate 575 about 11:30 p.m. Thursday night, the release said. A Cherokee Sheriff's deputy pulled him over near exit 16 after seeing that the vehicle kept swerving out of its lane.

Upon approaching Morgan, the deputy could "immediately smell an odor of alcohol," and Morgan confirmed he had been drinking at a bar in Pickens County. Morgan consented to field sobriety tests, where he "showed signs of impairment."

His blood alcohol content was .097, the release said. Drivers with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher are considered legally drunk in Georgia.

“Like many others, Thursday night I used poor judgement and made a terrible choice to get behind the wheel of my car after having alcohol,” Morgan said in a statement, reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “A Cherokee County Sheriff’s deputy did his job and arrested me.”

Morgan was booked in the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center Thursday night, but was released on a $2,211 bond Friday morning.

“I take full responsibility for my actions and decisions, and will accept the consequences as soon as a special prosecutor is appointed,” Morgan said in the statement.