MNPD Officer Sekou Samassi was conducting a routine traffic stop on a vehicle just before daylight on Saturday morning, when a vehicle driven by John Stuart Beard, 55, pulled up behind his patrol vehicle and parked behind him on the side of the road.
Officer Sekou exited his patrol car to see if the driver needed police assistance, and when he approached the car he observed the driver’s eyes were closed and he was asleep in the now parked vehicle. He knocked and woke the driver up, who then rolled down both windows.
The officer reports smelling alcohol coming from inside the vehicle, and observing a plastic cup that was filled with “whiskey and coke” in the center console of the vehicle. Beard denied the whiskey was his, and advised he had just dropped off a friend. Beard then admitted he had been at Crows Nest bar in Green Hills for the previous 4 hours, but had only drank 1 beer.
James Beard was taken into custody and charged with DUI and released on the pre-trial-release program. He will appear in court on 07/20/18.
