Community Corner
2013 in Review: The Trials and Tribulations of Del. Don Dwyer
Between serving time in jail for drunk driving and boating, and being assaulted by his neighbor on PCP, State Delegate Don Dwyer had a rough year.
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By D. Frank Smith
Del. Dwyer Gets 60 Days for Driving Car, Boat Drunk
Del. Don Dwyer Jr., will serve 60 days in prison for drunken driving and boating, The Capital reported. Dwyer will begin serving that time on weekends starting Nov. 9.Dwyer pleaded guilty Friday to drunken driving, and was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Emory Plitt to 30 days for each offense. He will also serve three years of probation for the drunken boating offense.
He was fined $1,000 for the misdemeanor offenses, but Plitt waived the costs and court fees, The Capital reported.
Dwyer was in court Friday in Annapolis on separate charges of driving a boat while drunk and driving a car while drunk. Seven people were injured in the boating incident, including children.
A plea hearing was scheduled on the more recent drunken driving charge from August, and a sentencing hearing on the drunken boating incident from August 2012.
In July, Dwyer pleaded guilty to drunken boating. In that incident, the delegate from Pasadena was at the wheel of his 27-foot powerboat named "The Legislator" when it collided with another vessel in the Magothy River. Seven people were injured, including children.
Nearly a year later, Dwyer was arrested for drunken driving after being spotted driving erratically in Pasadena. Dwyer told the officer he had had two beers prior to driving and he was returning home after being at a tavern in Baltimore City. He refused a breathalyzer test.
He was also driving in a vehicle with expired registration, which had been suspended for emissions, police said.
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Police: Dwyer Assaulted by Neighbor on PCP Before His DUI Arrest (August 20, 2013)
By D. Frank SmithA day before Maryland State Delegate Don Dwyer was arrested for driving under the influence, he was apparently attacked by his neighbor and a dog before being chased off a pier into the water, according to a police report.
Anne Arundel County police were dispatched Sunday at 3:25 p.m. to Twickenham Road in Pasadena after a reported altercation between Dwyer and his neighbor, Brian Lucabaugh, whom witnesses said was holding a knife near Dwyer.
Dwyer said he was cleaning his crab pots when Lucabaugh offered him a cigarette, which Dwyer declined.
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According to the report, Dwyer said the rejection enraged Lucabaugh, who threw his cigarette into the river and smacked Dwyer across the face with an open hand. Lucabaugh then grabbed Dwyer and shoved him down the pier, while commanding his dog, a 100 pound pitbull, to attack him.
Dwyer told police that the dog bit him, and Lucabaugh grabbed him and threw him into the water. Dwyer then swam away from his assailants, but Lucabaugh gave chase.
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"Dwyer said that Lucabaugh was enraged and appeared somewhat psychotic as he repeatedly called him the devil as he pursued him along the shore," according to the report.
When police caught up with Lucabaugh at his residence, he declined to answer questions and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to the report. An officer noticed a glass bottle containing PCP on Lucabaugh's deck and began the process of placing the man under arrest.
Lucabaugh resisted arrest, kicking violently and swinging his arms while struggling against three officers, according to the report.
Lucabaugh was charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The knife mentioned by witnesses was not recovered at the scene, police said.
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