30-year-old Richard Garton had a Glock 19 holstered on his hip and a Glock 26 in his front pocket, each with one round in the chamber, as he admitted to drinking a half-bottle of vodka when police found him crashed on Harding Pike near West End. He told police: “F-ck this, I’m drunk”.
Metro Nashville Police were dispatched to a single-vehicle accident at 4001 Harding Pike at 5:43 a.m. Monday. The vehicle, and it’s single occupant, driver Richard Garton, crossed over all lanes of traffic and into oncoming traffic, before running into a retaining wall. Police report Garton smelled of alcohol upon contact, and was “wobbly on his feet”, and slurring his speech.
Officers located a Glock 19 handgun holstered on his hip and a Glock 26 in his pocket. Both guns were loaded with one round in each chamber. He provided a driver’s license to officers, however, it was ‘expired’ when checked in the state database. Richard Garton told officers he had drunk a “half-bottle of vodka a couple of hours ago”, according to a police report. When explaining field sobriety test instructions, Garton reportedly said “Fuck this, I’m drunk!”, and then when asked if he was refusing the tests, he replied, “Yes, I’m drunk”.
Richard Garton, 30, blew a .133 on a breath test at booking and was charged with two counts of carrying a handgun while under the influence, driving without a license, and DUI – driving under the influence. He was booked into custody at 07:50 a.m., and freed on pre-trial release at 09:39 a.m., with a November court date.
