ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996 TAG: 9612030085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
ANDY WARD showed up to serve jail time 1 1/2 hours late - with alcohol in his system, according to Botetourt County Sheriff Reed Kelly.
When former Lord Botetourt High School football coach Andy Ward reported to jail at 10:30 a.m. Friday - minutes after handing in his resignation - he was 1 1/2 hours late and had alcohol in his system, Botetourt County Sheriff Reed Kelly said.
Ward, 32, spent the weekend in jail after pleading guilty Nov. 25 to reckless driving and driving on a suspended license. Ward has been convicted twice this year for driving under the influence, and was pulled over in August for speeding in a car owned by one of his players. He still has 11 days to serve.
Monday, his problems continued to pile up, and he could wind up spending an additional 55 days in jail.
Botetourt Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom and Ward's Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program case manager filed documents in General District Court noting Ward's failure to comply with several court orders.
Besides being late to jail Friday, Ward apparently violated several conditions of his probation from a DUI conviction in Botetourt County in March, the documents show.
In one instance, he showed up at a VASAP class with a blood-alcohol content of .043, according to the documents.
Branscom called Ward's tardiness to jail Friday ``ridiculous,'' especially since the court arranged for Ward to serve his time on weekends and over the coming holiday break so it would not conflict with his work schedule. ``You're expected to be prompt,'' Branscom said.
Ward was supposed to report at 9 a.m., but didn't show up until 10:27 a.m., Branscom said.
A breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of .04 when he entered the jail, according to Kelly. The test is only a screening, and is not reliable enough to be used in court, but confirms that Ward had alcohol in his system, he said.
Rob Hagan, Ward's attorney, said there was confusion about when Ward was supposed to report to jail. Ward reportedly turned in his resignation at the School Board office about a mile from the jail at 10 a.m. Kelly said Ward stayed an extra hour and a half to make up for being late.
Ward had been sentenced to 30 days on the reckless-driving conviction, but 27 of them were suspended. The additional 11 days Ward has to serve stem from his conviction for driving on a suspended license.
General District Court Judge Louis Campbell could require Ward to serve the remainder of the reckless-driving sentence.
Ward also could serve another 28 days if the judge revokes the suspension of jail time Ward received in his DUI conviction in March.
Ward's VASAP case manager, Dottie Hogeland, cited five different areas in which he failed to comply with terms of his probation. Besides testing positive for alcohol in his blood at a VASAP class, Ward failed to notify Hogeland of a DUI conviction in Roanoke in April and failed to tell her of the reckless-driving and suspended license charges he pleaded guilty to last week.
Ward paid a $75 fine and all court costs, did eight hours of community service and had his license restricted for the Botetourt DUI conviction. He was also ordered to attend VASAP, but was dismissed from the program earlier this year after showing up with alcohol in his system.
He also spent a weekend in jail, but the remaining 28 days of his 30-day jail sentence were suspended.
Hagan said Ward's wrongs have been handled fairly by the courts so far, but he fears publicity about the case might make that impossible in the future.
``I worry the judicial process might get thrown out of balance, and Andy won't get a fair hearing when the time comes,'' Hagan said. ``But ultimately, I think you'll see a rebalancing of the scales of public opinion,'' and Ward's character and his indiscretions will be more fairly weighed, he said.
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