Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 30, 1990 TAG: 9007300268
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN and DOUGLAS PARDUE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Johnson said he had talked with Chairman Dick Robers and Supervisor Harry Nickens and told them "how sorry I am for disgracing the board . . . I told them that if they couldn't work with me, I would consider resigning. They rejected that."
Johnson was stopped by a Roanoke police officer about 8:30 p.m. while driving on Hershberger Road Northwest.
He was charged with driving under the influence and taken to the Roanoke City Jail, where he agreed to a blood-alcohol test. He was released two hours later.
A magistrate set a $300 personal recognizance bond, but Johnson wasn't allowed out until after he called on assistance from Roanoke Del. Clifton A. Woodrum, D-Roanoke, who called General District Judge Ed Kidd.
Woodrum, a lawyer who serves on the House Courts of Justice Committee which reviews judicial appointments, said he was acting as Johnson's friend, not as an attorney. He said he did not try to improperly use his legislative position. "I never mentioned any position I held," he said.
Instead, he said, he was forced to call on Kidd because the magistrate wouldn't let Johnson out even though Johnson was legally entitled to be released because bond had been set. The magistrate told him that normal policy is to hold people charged with drunken driving for several hours, Woodrum said.
Chief magistrate Bobby Casey said today he was not on duty when the incident occurred, but generally a DUI suspect is not released until he is sober or someone is there to take responsibility for the suspect.
If the magistrate didn't think Johnson should have been released, bond shouldn't have been set, Woodrum said. But once bond was set, Johnson had a right to leave, he said. "I just asked that they follow the law."
Woodrum said that after Johnson called him, he got dressed and went to the jail. He said he returned home and called Kidd because the magistrate on duty refused to release Johnson. He said Kidd told him to go back and try a second time and that if the magistrate refused again to call him from the jail.
When a magistrate refused again, Woodrum called Kidd and gave the phone to the magistrate. Johnson was then released to Woodrum, who offered to take responsibility for Johnson and drive him home.
"It's my function as both a lawyer and a friend," Woodrum said.
Johnson, who also was ticketed for following behind another vehicle too closely, is scheduled to appear in Roanoke General District Court on Sept. 25.
He said today that he had played in a golf tournament at the Roanoke Country Club on Sunday and "celebrated a little too much for placing second . . . I'm not going to say I just drank one beer [but] I didn't think I was impaired."
He said he had taken a couple of sinus pills and hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch on Sunday.
The police officers who handled his arrest and booking were "very professional and very polite," he said. "They were just doing their job."
Other supervisors said they would stick by Johnson.
Robers said Johnson has done "an excellent job representing the people in the county. It's an unfortunate incident, but knowing Bob, I'm sure he's learned from it. I'm sure it will never be a problem again, and I'll support him 100 percent."
Nickens said Johnson has "exercised poor judgment. But there's no one who regrets it more than he does. It was very humiliating to him."
Nickens said that when Johnson offered to resign, "I said, `Absolutely, not. You have contributed significantly to the county in the past and you will in the future. You just made a mistake.' "
Supervisors Lee Eddy and Steve McGraw are out of town and couldn't be reached for comment today.
by CNB