Todd Harrell, the bassist for the rock band 3 Doors Down, has been found guilty in Harrison County Court of an appeal of a 2012 DUI conviction from D'lberville Municipal Court, as reported by the Sun Herald.
Harrell was found guilty in both courts of driving while under the influence of DUI other substances stemming form a July 19, 2012 arrest. On that date he had rear-ended a pickup truck with his Cadillac at a four-way stop on Lemoyne Boulevard and Gorenflo Road.
One month before the July crash Harrell had hit another car in Nashville. In that incident he has been charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication in the other driver's death.
Due to his arrest in the first incident Harrell was prevented from touring with his band worldwide.
After listening to many hours of testimony from the D'lberville incident, County Court Judge Robin Alfred Midcalf found him guilty of DUI other substances.
Midcalf has stated that she treated Harrell the same as any other DUI offender. He was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine; all but $750 of it was suspended. Then she ordered him to two days behind bars; and agreed to waive it completely if he remained away from legal trouble for six months.
Other stipulations made by the judge included that Harrell enroll in a drug and alcohol awareness program, and a victims' impact program, both within the next 30 days. The judge also noted that if his driver's license wasn't suspended already the DMV should be notified of the court's findings.
A witness to the D'lberville accident, a lieutenant with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, said that he saw Harrell's Cadillac coming up "at a pretty high rate of speed" behind his own vehicle. The Cadillac then passed him on Lemoyne Boulevard and drove into the rear of the truck stopped at the intersection.
D.T., the driver of the truck, also spied the Cadillac headed his way but it seemed to swerve away, and then back, before striking him. D.T. said, "I knew it was going to be a hard hit."
The officer first on scene at approximately 7:13 a.m. said that Harrell was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurry and he later passed out in the back of the police cruiser.
According to Harrell he admitted to taking Zanaflex at 10 p.m. the night before and, though he agreed to giving a blood sample, claimed there was really no need for it as he readily admitted to being on a plethora of drugs: oxycodone, Percocet, Flexeril and Xanax.
Forensic scientist J.S. said all of those drugs did show up in Harrell's blood sample – all but the Zanaflex he originally admitted to consuming.
A neurologist, testifying on Harrell's behalf, said that Harrell could have had the slurred speech and drowsiness due to a closed head injury. However, there was no evidence presented on whether or not Harrell had such an injury. The doctor further argued that the only way to gage Harrell's impairment was to know the amounts of each drug he consumed and when he took them.
Whether you have been charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol contact a DUI attorney to best represent you when you go to court. Before you entire your plea a DUI attorney must advise you.