THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512040036
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Police pulled eight drunken drivers off the road - at least temporarily - after stopping them at checkpoints in Portsmouth and Virginia Beach over the weekend.
Among those nabbed for DUI: a tow truck driver who had been called by police to haul away the car of an unlicensed driver stopped at the Virginia Beach checkpoint.
The first check was set up Friday night on the Portsmouth side of the Downtown Tunnel. With State Police assisting, city police found 25 violations, among them, one charge of DUI.
On Saturday night, Virginia Beach police stopped traffic on Shore Drive at Jack Frost Road. They wrote 49 tickets, including seven for DUI.
The immediate impact of roadblocks is limited to but a fraction of the vehicles on area roads. But police hope the visibility of such checkpoints drives home the message that police are looking for drunken drivers and that violators risk severe penalties.
``The media coverage of these things lets people know that, yes, the cops are out there,'' said Lou Thurston, a Virginia Beach police spokesman. ``These roadblocks are random, but they are routine. You never know where they are going to pop up.''
While the Friday and Saturday checkpoints were large, requiring numerous officers, State Police also mount smaller roadside checks with fewer personnel, often using interstate offramps, which leave little room for escape.
Both Friday and Saturday, some motorists caught in the police nets tried to speed off. All were caught. One, in Portsmouth, was driving a stolen car, which he crashed into a wall of the tunnel while trying to flee.
Rodney Baldwin, 22, of Virginia Beach was charged with car theft, having a suspended driver's license, possession of burglary tools, reckless driving and eluding police.
Police said Baldwin initially stopped at the checkpoint about 10:15 p.m. before speeding away. A waiting police car chased him, but then he wrecked the car in the tunnel.
Baldwin was caught while trying to run from the accident scene.
In Virginia Beach, one drunken driver speeded off only to be stopped by pursuing police a few miles down Shore Drive. And several other motorists were stopped and ticketed for violations after they spotted the roadblock and tried to avoid it by crossing a median and going the other way.
The one incident that surprised even police occurred when the driver of a tow truck they had called to haul off a car was found to be drunk.
Martin O. Walling, 31, of the 1200 block of Baker Road, a driver for A.B. Fews Inc., was charged with DUI after a police officer smelled alcohol on his breath and noticed the man having balance problems while hooking up to the car.
Police in all local cities are planning highway checks throughout the holidays. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic by Steve Stone
Checkpoint Talley
For complete copy, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: DUI ARREST ROADBLOCK
by CNB