Drunken Lawn Mower Driver Gets 40 Days In Jail

BLOOMFIELD TWP. (WWJ) - A Bloomfield Township man who pleaded guilty to driving drunk behind the wheel of a riding lawn mower has been sentenced to 40 days in jail.

It was the third operating while intoxicated offense for 47-year-old Navy veteran Roy Walton who was stopped by police as he was riding the mower to Rite Aid last March.

Walton blew a 0.10 in a Breathalyzer test and was arrested in the parking lot outside the store at Woodward Ave. and Square Lake.  The legal limit in the state is 0.08.

The mower was impounded.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Potts also sentenced Walton to two years probation and alcohol/drug testing. He'll have a chance of work release from jail after 30 days.

Defense lawyer John Secrest had sought a 30-day suspended sentence, telling Potts that incarceration seemed like a severe penalty for driving a lawn mower.

"I think it's too harsh, you know," Secrest told reporters following the sentencing on Wednesday.

"I think the prosecutors in their discretion could have modified the charges somewhat," he said. "I'm not saying he's not at fault for doing something wrong. On the other hand, I don't think that it warrants a felony."

Walton had been driving a car the first two times he was charged with drunken driving.

MORE: Man Charged With Drunk Driving After Riding Lawn Mower To Store