A 67-year-old Indiana woman allegedly gave the Jennings County courthouse lawn a margarita-fueled makeover, ripping through the grass in a car before police say her two-jumbo drink tab caught up with her.
Lorraine Wilkerson, of North Vernon, landed in handcuffs Monday after a courthouse camera caught a car tearing up the lawn, cutting around trees, light posts and a bench before hitting a sign, video shared by the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office showed.
The sheriff’s office turned the wrecked grass into a booze-and-driving warning on Facebook.
“If you’ve had a few too many margaritas with dinner, please don’t get behind the wheel, and definitely don’t do donuts on the courthouse lawn,” the sheriff’s office posted.
The courthouse mess ended with Wilkerson facing Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated and “numerous other charges,” the office said.
“We encourage everyone to enjoy themselves responsibly and always make arrangements for a safe ride home if you’ve been drinking,” the post continued.
Wilkerson was still behind the wheel when deputies arrived, with another woman beside her, according to court documents video-d by news outlets.
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Wilkerson allegedly acted as if the mangled courthouse lawn required an explanation from somebody else.
A deputy wrote that she insisted she was fine, then tried to put the car in gear even though it was not running.
After opening the door to get Wilkerson out, the deputy described a scene that moved fast from odd to boozy.
Wilkerson allegedly spoke with slurred words, reeked of alcohol and needed the car to stay upright, according to court documents. She also could not give officers the day or the year.
Wilkerson’s version put her across the street at Los Alamos, where she allegedly claimed she had one margarita after a day without food. She also told deputies the “margaritas seemed to be extra strong.”
A roadside sobriety screening ended badly for Wilkerson, whose first breathalyzer reading was .079.
After a hospital visit for a blood draw, Wilkerson was booked into the Jennings County Jail, where a second breath test measured .090.
The restaurant paperwork allegedly made the margarita story even worse.
Both women had ordered a “Margarita Special Jumbo” at Los Alamos, and a waiter told deputies Wilkerson had also polished off the other woman’s oversized drink.
Prosecutors filed several counts against Wilkerson, including operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating with an ACE of .08 or more.
Her bond moved from $950 to $5,055, court documents state. Wilkerson entered a not guilty plea Wednesday.
Wilkerson’s case returns to court Nov. 12, and a bench trial is on the calendar for Dec. 15.
A different allegedly drunken arrest turned physical Sunday in southeastern Pennsylvania, where 23-year-old Emily Abbruzzi was accused of kicking the same Hatboro police officer over and over.
The police response started with a domestic disturbance call at Hatters Court in the Woodwinds Condo Complex and escalated when officers learned that roughly seven people had been fighting outside.
By the time police got there, the larger brawl was no longer in front of them, but police said Abbruzzi still ran afoul of disorderly conduct and public drunkenness laws.
During the arrest, Abbruzzi allegedly kicked one officer in the leg.
Police said that same officer was nearly kicked twice more while Abbruzzi was being loaded into a patrol vehicle, once toward the chest and again toward the face as officers tried to buckle her in.
Abbruzzi was arrested on charges including aggravated assault on police, harassment, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct.
In Florida, another DUI arrest came with bodycam drama after a 24-year-old woman allegedly rammed a Ford Bronco into a parked Honda and still seemed hazy on the damage.
The Bronco hit the Honda outside the owner’s home, shoved it into the grass and kicked dirt into the air as the driver kept accelerating, according to surveillance video cited by the New York Post.
Elizabeth Boucher’s confusion over the Aug. 30 crash played out on Daytona Beach police bodycam video.
“I guess I hit the front light of the car,” Boucher told an officer. “But I don’t know what really happened.”
The officer quickly corrected her. “You didn’t just hit the front of the car. You just took the car completely off,” the officer replied.
Instead of a driver’s license, Boucher gave police a passport, begged not to go to jail and refused sobriety exercises, bodycam video showed.
“Please don’t take me to jail over this,” Boucher pleaded.
When Boucher tried to leave the encounter, officers stopped her and put her in handcuffs.
“Just because you don’t want to talk to us doesn’t mean we’re done with our investigation,” an officer told her.
“I thought we were all friends,” Boucher told one officer.
Boucher then invoked her daughter while insisting she was not resisting.
“I’m not resisting arrest; I just wanna make sure my daughter gets what she needs,” she said.
Boucher declined a requested DUI test before she was taken to Volusia County Jail, WFLA-TV reported.
Police said Boucher faced charges of DUI, touch or strike, possession of a controlled substance, resisting an officer/obstruction, refusal to submit to DUI testing and DUI damage to property.
