Post by WaTcHeR on Jul 14, 2006 17:35:45 GMT -5
07.14.2006 - A judge reduced a drunken driving charge against a Rockingham County Sheriff’s deputy to reckless driving Thursday in Rockingham County General District Court.
Louis Charles Royston, 28, a five-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and member of the regional gang task force, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge, and received a 60-day suspended jail sentence.
State police arrested Royston shortly after midnight on Feb. 5, after a traffic stop on South Main Street, according to court records. According to court records, a Breathalyzer test showed Royston’s blood alcohol level at .13, which is above Virginia’s legal limit of .08.
Judge John Paul reduced the charge, against the request of a special prosecutor, after an appeal from Royston’s attorney, William Helsley.
Special prosecutor Amy Tisinger, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Shenandoah County, asked Paul to convict the deputy of driving under the influence and punish him appropriately for a first offender.
"We don’t think that because he is a police officer he should be treated differently," Tisinger said. "Facts are facts."
After reducing the charge, Paul ordered the suspended sentence and a $500 fine. Royston must also complete an alcohol program. The suspended jail sentence is contingent upon the deputy’s staying out of trouble for one year, the judge said.
The Defense
Some of the hearing in the district’s traffic court was difficult to hear.
Helsley called Royston’s arrest "regrettable," and said the evidence was sufficient to warrant the drunken driving charge.
"No one is trying to avoid punishment for this situation," Helsley said. "We’re asking for an appropriate disposition."
Before entering his client’s guilty plea, Helsley explained his client’s circumstances and asked that the charge be reduced. Helsley said that Royston is a "stellar" deputy with no criminal record.
He also explained the consequences that a DWI conviction could have for his client, specifically if it cost him his commercial driver’s license.
Royston’s father, a Vietnam veteran, runs a dump-truck business, which might go under if Royston lost his commercial driver’s license and couldn’t help out, Helsley said.
Helsley said his client was embarrassed by the incident and that there had been "demotions" at work. Helsley and Royston declined to comment after the hearing.
After the hearing, Sheriff Don Farley said Royston made a poor decision, but that he had been through the courts and had been disciplined on the job. Farley said he wouldn’t name the punishment because it’s a personnel matter.
"He’s an extremely good deputy, and he does a great deal of work for the community," the sheriff said. "He’s learned from this, and we’re going to move on."
www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=5287&CHID=2
Louis Charles Royston, 28, a five-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and member of the regional gang task force, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge, and received a 60-day suspended jail sentence.
State police arrested Royston shortly after midnight on Feb. 5, after a traffic stop on South Main Street, according to court records. According to court records, a Breathalyzer test showed Royston’s blood alcohol level at .13, which is above Virginia’s legal limit of .08.
Judge John Paul reduced the charge, against the request of a special prosecutor, after an appeal from Royston’s attorney, William Helsley.
Special prosecutor Amy Tisinger, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Shenandoah County, asked Paul to convict the deputy of driving under the influence and punish him appropriately for a first offender.
"We don’t think that because he is a police officer he should be treated differently," Tisinger said. "Facts are facts."
After reducing the charge, Paul ordered the suspended sentence and a $500 fine. Royston must also complete an alcohol program. The suspended jail sentence is contingent upon the deputy’s staying out of trouble for one year, the judge said.
The Defense
Some of the hearing in the district’s traffic court was difficult to hear.
Helsley called Royston’s arrest "regrettable," and said the evidence was sufficient to warrant the drunken driving charge.
"No one is trying to avoid punishment for this situation," Helsley said. "We’re asking for an appropriate disposition."
Before entering his client’s guilty plea, Helsley explained his client’s circumstances and asked that the charge be reduced. Helsley said that Royston is a "stellar" deputy with no criminal record.
He also explained the consequences that a DWI conviction could have for his client, specifically if it cost him his commercial driver’s license.
Royston’s father, a Vietnam veteran, runs a dump-truck business, which might go under if Royston lost his commercial driver’s license and couldn’t help out, Helsley said.
Helsley said his client was embarrassed by the incident and that there had been "demotions" at work. Helsley and Royston declined to comment after the hearing.
After the hearing, Sheriff Don Farley said Royston made a poor decision, but that he had been through the courts and had been disciplined on the job. Farley said he wouldn’t name the punishment because it’s a personnel matter.
"He’s an extremely good deputy, and he does a great deal of work for the community," the sheriff said. "He’s learned from this, and we’re going to move on."
www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=5287&CHID=2