MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — A jury in Middletown City Court on Thursday convicted an 18-year-old man of driving under the influence of drugs after he failed to stop at a stop sign and admitted to smoking marijuana throughout the day.
The defendant, whose name was withheld due to his age at the time of the crime, was found guilty of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Drugs and Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced.
According to trial testimony, Middletown police observed the defendant run a stop sign at Wisner Avenue and Grand Avenue around 11 p.m. on September 29. After pulling the vehicle over, officers reported the smell of burned marijuana and signs of impairment. Field sobriety tests confirmed the driver was impaired, and a subsequent blood test showed the presence of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana.
The defendant admitted to officers that he had been smoking marijuana throughout the day and had only stopped just before driving.
District Attorney Hoovler praised the City of Middletown Police Department and the prosecutors on the case, stating, “This defendant made the conscious decision of operating a car after a day spent smoking marijuana and by doing so, put everyone else driving on our roads in peril.”
The conviction followed prosecution by Assistant District Attorneys Mark Butler and Cassidy Turi.