NORWICH – After just an hour of deliberations at the Chenango County Courthouse, nine men and three women agreed that a DWI defendant was guilty on all counts Tuesday.
Robert G. Niles of Bainbridge was found guilty of driving while intoxicated (a class D felony) and driving under the influence of alcohol. The jury listened to testimony from three witness over the last two days. Niles had two prior DWI convictions from 1997 and 2002. He will be facing at least two years in state prison, but could be sentenced up to seven.
New York State Trooper Craig T. Starr, a seven-year veteran, testified he came across a pick-up truck in a ditch on Corbin Road in the Town of Afton Oct. 28, 2006. The trooper begin filling out paper work at the scene when the defendant came walking down the road. Niles admitted he was highly intoxicated at the time he met the trooper.
“I’m an alcoholic for one, I get frustrated, I get upset and I sometimes get drunk,” said Niles on the stand. He claimed he walked to his residence, “about a mile down the road” and made several calls looking for someone to help him. After failing to locate anyone, Niles said he became frustrated and drank between “eight and twelve beers.”
Starr testified Niles made a number of statements to him admitting he had been drinking before the crash and begged the trooper to let him go. “He begged me to let him go, saying he had almost made it home,” said Starr.
Niles said he was so intoxicated at the time he met the trooper he couldn’t remember what he had said. “I was drunk. I’m sure I said a lot of things. I don’t recall,” said Niles.
“I asked him how his truck got there and originally he said someone must have taken it from his driveway. I took him aside and basically told him I didn’t believe that and he then admitted he was driving the vehicle,” said Starr.
After being arrested, Niles was eventually convinced to take a breath alcohol test at 9:12 p.m. at the trooper’s station. He blew an alcohol blood percentage above .3 percent, well over three times the legal limit. Starr said it was one of the highest he had ever seen in the course of his police work.
District Attorney Joseph McBride said, “So let’s get this straight ... you walked a mile to your house at around 6:30 p.m., that walk took at least 15 minutes?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Niles.
“So you walked there, made several phone calls to friends, family, businesses trying to get someone to move your truck and then you walked back by 7:30 p.m., to run into the trooper?” asked McBride.
“Yes,” said Niles.
“That doesn’t seem to add up, after all that you only had between 5 and 10 minutes. Are you telling the court and the jury that in that brief time span you consumed between eight and twelve beers?” asked McBride. Niles reaffirmed his prior testimony at that point, saying he was home for at least an hour.
“At no time, even after I asked twice, did the defendant tell me he was drinking after the accident,” said Starr.
Niles’ sister, Christina Niles, was also called to the stand to offer brief testimony but after a sustained objections by the prosecution, the defense only asked two questions. In her cross examination, she admitted she was very nervous and contradicted herself. “It’s all right ma’am, you said you love your brother and wouldn’t you do anything you could to help him?” asked McBride. “I would,” replied Christina.
Nile was remanded to the County Correctional Facility to await an update to his pre-plea report when it’s completed he will be sentenced.