DUI

A Covington man was arrested for DUI Sunday afternoon after officers saw him driving too fast in a neighborhood with music turned up too loud.

According to a Covington Police Department report, officers were patrolling on Lassiter Street about 2:30 p.m. when they saw a blue SUV traveling at a high rate of speed with the music turned up loud. Officers were concerned, because the driver was speeding in a neighborhood where there is typically a lot of pedestrian traffic and no sidewalks. The driver also failed to signal at a turn.

The driver, Christopher Bell, stopped at Petty Street and officers pulled him over.

Police reported that they immediately noticed his eyes were glassy and bloodshot and that he smelled of alcohol. Bell reportedly agreed to perform sobriety tests for the officers and got out of his vehicle.

After failing several aspects of the tests Bell reportedly told officers that he wouldn’t take anymore tests, saying "you’re going to take me to jail anyway."

Bell was arrested and transported to the Newton County Detention Center where he was charged with DUI, noise violation from auto and too fast for conditions.

OBSTRUCTION

A Morgan County 911 operator was arrested early Sunday morning after allegedly failing to pay his bill at a Covington Waffle House.

Officers from the Covington Police Department were called to the Waffle House on Alcovy Road at 2:23 a.m. where they met with the restaurant’s cook who told them that three men had come into the restaurant and ate, and then two had gotten up and left without paying their bill. He was able to provide the officers with the tag number of the vehicle the men had left in and reportedly told officers if they came back and paid their bill he would not press charges.

The officers spoke with the man who had been sitting with the two who left and he reportedly told them their names and contact information. One of the men did not answer his phone and officers contacted Morgan County 911 to get their employee’s contact information. They were able to reach that man, identified as Alan Bragg, and he reportedly admitted to leaving without paying for his meal. He also agreed to come back and pay for his food.

After about 15 minutes Bragg came walking around the building and approached officers. While speaking with him they allegedly noticed an odor of alcohol coming from him, as well as his being unsteady on his feet and having bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.

When asked how he had gotten to the Waffle House, he reportedly told them his girlfriend had brought him and that she was waiting for him in the car. But when officers looked on the side of the restaurant for the car, they did not see it sitting where he said it was. They asked Bragg to show them where his car was so they could verify that someone else had driven him there and he walked the officers to the rear of the motel next to Waffle House and showed them his vehicle. His girlfriend was nowhere to be found, according to reports.

When officers asked Bragg where his girlfriend was, he told them he didn’t know and reportedly said that "she must have got out of the car and left me here." They asked him for her phone number and called, and when they asked where she was she allegedly told them she was at home in Madison and had not driven Bragg anywhere that night. They once again asked Bragg where she was, and he repeated his claim that she had driven him there and must have left him.

Bragg consented to a search of his person and officers located car keys in his front pocket. They walked him into the restaurant and allowed him to pay for his meal. They then walked him back outside and asked him if he would consent to sobriety tests and Bragg allegedly refused.

Bragg was placed under arrest and transported to the Newton County Detention Center. On the way there he reportedly told officers that he had driven himself to the restaurant and his girlfriend had not been there. He was charged with public drunk, reckless driving and obstruction.