NORWICH – Witness testimony was heard Thursday during a pre-trial hearing for the case of a contested felony driving while intoxicated charge.
Edgar L. Pierce, 55, of Sherburne, has been charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated (for allegedly having a blood alcohol content level of .19 percent at the time of the incident) and felony driving while intoxicated (a felony due to a previous DWI conviction), both are class E felonies. The charges stem from a traffic stop which occurred February 16, 2013 in the Village of Sherburne. During the pre-trial court hearing yesterday defense attorney Scott Clippinger and prosecutor Joseph McBride contested whether or not the charges arose from a lawful traffic stop.
Sherburne police officer Ryan M. Legacy, a two-year veteran of the force, was called to the stand and sworn in. Presiding Judge Martin E. Smith also reviewed a video recording from the officer’s dash cam which captured the traffic stop.
According to Legacy’s testimony, he was on patrol during the night in question when he witnessed a 1997 Mazda Miata perform a series of traffic violations. The officer first spotted the vehicle while it was traveling southbound on Classic Street in the Village of Sherburne. Following behind the car, he witnessed it stop briefly at the red light located at the intersection of State Highway 12 and State Highway 80, with one-third of the front car over the white line. Once past the red light and outside of the village fire department, Legacy observed the Mazda swerve – leading to a citation for unsafe lane change. It was made clear for the record that while Pierce did cross the section of the roadway usually denoted by a fog line, there is in fact no painted white line during the specific portion of the roadway in question. Following the swerve, Legacy observed the Mazda cross over a bridge spanning the width of the Chenango River and, after utilizing the right turn signal, pull off onto the side of the road. At this point, Legacy activated his emergency lights and pulled up behind the parked vehicle.
“When did you decide to follow the vehicle ... when did you decide to stop it?” inquired Clippinger during his cross-examination of the witness.
“After the red light ... after the vehicle swerved,” responded Legacy.
During his cross-examination Clippinger asked whether or not Legacy had ran a stop sign to follow the Mazda as well as why the officer turned off his head lights at one juncture of the incident.
“To see what he was doing at the red light, if he was going to run it,” he responded to the later question.
“You couldn’t see that with your lights on,” asked Clippinger.
“I could have seen him with my lights on,” confirmed Legacy.
Thereafter, Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride confirmed through questioning Legacy, that Pierce had pulled over on his own and that the officer had not in fact pulled him over.
After hearing the witness testimony, Judge Smith adjourned the matter with a promise of his written decision by sometime next week.
The second matter addressed in court was whether or not Pierce’s prior DWI conviction from 2005 could be mentioned during the pending trial. It was ruled that should Pierce take the stand in his own defense, the conviction could be mentioned although the prosecutor will not be permitted to delve into its underlying circumstances.