In a complaint filed by Sr. Trooper J.D. Richards, it was stated that on Tuesday, January 7th, 2025, at approximately 10:26 p.m., Calhoun County Dispatch received a phone call from the DOH Garage stating that a State Road Worker had observed a Jeep Grand Cherokee stuck over the hill near the address of 1711 Stinson Rd., Chloe, West Virginia. The State Road Worker stated to Calhoun County Dispatch that the Male seemed to be highly intoxicated.
On the same date, at approximately 11:10 p.m. Senior Trooper J.D. Richards, arrived on scene and made contact with the driver of the vehicle, Kenneth Wayne Harrison . Trooper Richards could smell the odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from Mr. Harrison. The Trooper then inspected the Black in color Jeep Cherokee which was perched slightly over the hillside. When he inspected inside the passenger side of the vehicle and in plain view the Trooper saw an opened bottle of liquor. Trooper Richards again went to speak with Mr. Harrison and noticed that he was having trouble standing upright on his feet. When the Trooper inquired about his consumption of alcohol, Mr. Harrison informed Trooper Richards that “he honestly had about 6-7 shots of Blackberry Brandy to soothe his cough.”
On the same date, at approximately 11:30 p.m. Trooper Richards conducted a Series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests on Mr. Harrison for which he failed to complete as requested.
On the same date, at approximately 11:49 p.m. Mr. Harrison was taken into custody for Driving under the influence and Open Container. Westfall’s Wrecker service was called to tow Mr. Harrisons vehicle to their yard in Mt. Zion, WV. After this, this Mr. Harrison was transported to the WVSP Clay Detachment for a secondary Chemical test of breath. Having had it explained to him, Mr. Harrison was given the WV Implied consent statement verbally for which he signed. Trooper Richards observed Mr. Harrison for greater than 20 minutes and he had nothing in his mouth during this period. Mr. Harrison blew into the Intoximeter and his BrAC registered as 0.119, which is above the legal limit of .08. He was then processed, fingerprinted and transported to Central Regional Jail in Flatwoods, WV to await arraignment by a Calhoun County Magistrate.
17C-05-02 Driving Under the Influence (e) Any person who drives a vehicle on any public highway or private road in this state: (1) while he or she is in an impaired state; or (2) while he or she is in an impaired state but has an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of less than fifteen hundredths of one percent, by weight, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, may be confined in jail for up to six months and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500, and shall have his or her license to operate a motos vehicle revoked by the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles for a period of six months or for a period of time conditioned on participation in the test and lock program in
accordance with §17C-5A-3a of this code: Provided, That a person sentenced pursuant to this subsection shall receive credit for any period of actual confinement he or she served upon arrest for the subject offense.
§17C-5D-3. Possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area of a motor vehicle (b) It is unlawful for the operator or a passenger of a motor vehicle to knowingly possess any open alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area of any motor vehicle that is located on a public highway or right-of-way of a public highway in this state, whether the vehicle is in motion or al rest. Possession by a person of one or more open containers in a single criminal occurrence is a single offense. (d) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section is guilly of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not less than $5O nor more than $100.
Mr. Harrison is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
