Hunter
09/07/20
A North Liberty man arrested for OWI was also charged with drug possession while being booked at the jail.
Police say 28-year-old Derek Richards of Sadler Lane was observed squealing his tires and rapidly accelerating on a residential street, and radar indicated he was going 36 miles an hour in a 25 zone while still accelerating. He was stopped in the 1500 block of Vandello Drive just after 6:30pm Sunday.
Richards allegedly smelled strongly of ingested alcohol, had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, and admitted drinking. Measurable impairment was observed on field testing, and he refused a PBT. A subsequent Datamaster test recorded his blood-alcohol level at .127 percent.
When being booked at the jail, Richards was found to have a pill hidden in an Altoid container. The pill was identified as a Schedule II controlled substance.
He’s been charged with his first OWI and possession of a controlled substance, both serious misdemeanors that carry a maximum jail term of one year each.